


I Refuse to Kneel Before the Sights You Choose to See (or Lady Macbeth Got a Raw Deal)

by Susanwiththescythe



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alpha Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alpha Jensen Ackles, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bastardizing Shakespeare, Beta Misha Collins, Child Loss, Come Marking, Don't Post To Another Site, Dystopia, Emotional Manipulation, Fertility Issues, Grief/Mourning, Hand & Finger Kink, Hand Feeding, Knotting, M/M, Murder, Nipple Play, Omega Jared Padalecki, Oral Sex, Pandemics, Post Mpreg, Post-Apocalypse, Scenting, Sex as deception, Throwing Tropes at the Wall and Seeing What Sticks, Trope Subversion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:01:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24528811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susanwiththescythe/pseuds/Susanwiththescythe
Summary: Sold to an old established family as the society he was born into was torn apart by a deadly sickness, Jared was groomed for a life that doesn't really exist once the dust settles. In the aftermath of the plague, what were once loose feudal structures begin to solidify, with Alphas heading up clans that battle for territory and resources as people hanker after the luxuries they know their ancestors enjoyed. Still grieving the death of their son, Jared gets the opportunity to make everything he was promised as a child a reality, if only he can persuade Jensen to do what needs to be done.
Relationships: Jeffrey Dean Morgan/Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	1. Dramatis Personae

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bastardisation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, with hints of John Wyndham's _The Chrysalids_ and probably a generalised debt to Margaret Atwood. The corona virus pandemic has massively interfered with my ability to actually sit down and commit words to screen (though things usually work out okay once I make it past that hurdle), but despite its clear impact on the story, I actually started working on this in 2017 (I think it was that long ago!!) while procrastinating on my first novel length fic. I told myself I would try and get it completed before posting, but given that I'm writing so seldom at the moment, and I do genuinely want to finish, I thought if I started posting what's already written (about half to two thirds of the thing), it might give me the necessary kick up the backside to get it finished.
> 
> This is under-tagged, for Plot Reasons. But if you know Macbeth, you'll have some idea of where it's going to end up.
> 
> This is my first attempt at A/B/O. I'm not intending to get heavily into the biology of the genders in this fic, but for my purposes, betas have omega and Alpha traits, which side of them dominates depends on which partner they bond with, but they are more usually childbearers than not.
> 
> I don't know what I'm doing but that's never stopped a lot of people. {Exeunt, pursued by a bear}
> 
> Beta'd by the ever-stalwart and wonderful [DeeMB](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeMB/profile)

For guidance, this is roughly who is who in this re-telling of Macbeth.

 **Lady Macbeth** \- Jared Padalecki

 **Macbeth,** _a Scottish lord, her husband_ \- Jensen Ackles

 **Banquo,** _Macbeth's best friend_ \- Misha Collins

 **Fleance,** _Banquo's son_ \- Katherine Newton

 **Duncan,** _King of Scotland_ \- Jeffrey Dean Morgan, head Alpha of Clan Morgan

 **Prince Malcolm,** _Duncan's firstborn_ \- Brock Kelly

 **Prince Donalbain,** _Duncan's secondborn_ \- Colin Ford

**The Thane of Cawdor,** _a traitor_ \- Clan Second Jim Beaver

 **Macduff** \- Mark Pellegrino

 **Various Scottish thanes** \- Various elders of Clan Morgan Julian Richings, Alaina Huffman, Richard Speight, Mark Sheppard, Sterling K. Brown, Tricia Helfer

 **The Wyrd Sisters** \- Emily Swallow, Ruth Connell, Lisa Berry

 **The Norwegian hordes** \- Clan Lincoln, led by Alpha Andrew Lincoln


	2. Prologue

It’s the first day they’ve had without rain in more than a week when his mother sells him to the short Alpha with the slightly messy hair. Jared doesn’t remember much of his life before that, but at seven years old, he knows about the sickness. He understands. How fast it came, how many it took. How quickly everything fell apart.

His mother is ill, and his father is gone, dead several weeks, the day she sells him to the stranger, a man with a cynical smile and inquisitive eyes that never stop moving. But Jared doesn’t think his mother is going to die. It would have happened by now, she says, and anyway, she’s starting to feel better. And it’s true that her cough has mostly gone and her fever has lessened. Most people who get sick die in a matter of days. She’s introduced him to a new word he’s never heard before.  _ Immunity _ . But she also has six children and now she’s sick, none of the Alphas want her, not even for a few hours. She’s already explained to him, with tears in her eyes, how it has to be once the rain lifts and they can go back outside again. She doesn’t know how long it will take before she’s well, and the little ones won’t stop crying, they’re so hungry.

Jared understands. He loves his siblings. But he knows he might never see them again. His mother says she should get a lot for him, because he is young and strong and she can already tell he will be so handsome when he grows up. And then she shouldn’t have to sell his sister too. She’s crying when she says this, so Jared hugs her and holds her close. He’s not scared of getting sick. She’s been ill with it long enough, and they all live in such close quarters that if he was going to catch it, it would have happened by now. He knows his mother thinks he has immunity too.

The final negotiations over his price are short.

“This your boy?”

“Yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jared.”

“Come here son.”

The Alpha is not his father, but Jared stands and takes a couple of steps towards him anyway. He has promised his mother he will be a good boy. All he can see of the man’s face are his eyes and unruly tufts of hair. He’s wearing a scarf or handkerchief or somesuch tied around the lower half of his face.

“Any idea if he’s omega or beta?”

His mother shakes her head.

“Let me see your teeth son.”

Jared pulls back his lips, pretending he’s a wolf, and the stranger laughs.

“I meant, open your mouth boy.”

He does so, not sure of the purpose of it, but the stranger looks inside anyway and seems to like what he sees.

“You weren’t lying about his bone structure anyway. It’d be helpful to know his status, I’ll get more for an omega, but I know he’s young... And the sickness means we need all the breeders we can get.”

“You agree then?” His mother asks. “My price… My price hasn’t changed.”

“Twenty sacks. You can count ‘em and check ‘em before we leave.”

It’s a lot of flour. Jared and his sister help his mother unload it from the stranger’s cart before Jared leaves for his new life. They check every single bag. The Alpha may be strange, and buying children may not be a respectable business, but Jared’s re-assured that the man hasn’t tried to cheat his family. Twenty sacks of flour will help keep them fed for a while, hopefully long enough for his mother to recover so Alphas will want to pay for her company again.

His new owner, for that’s what Jared supposes the Alpha must be, because he bought him, says Jared can say goodbye to his family, but then they have to be going. He hugs and kisses his brothers and sisters, starting with the little twins Tessa and Tommy, then it’s Alexa, Marian and lastly Chrissy. His mother holds him tightly, her breath coming in short little gasps, and he notices how thin she’s grown under her layers of grimy clothes. “You are being so brave for us love,” she whispers in his ear. “Take care, and listen to Mr Speight. He works for rich people. He will find you somewhere safe, somewhere comfortable. You will get everything you deserve for making this sacrifice for us. I love you so, so much.”

He tells her he loves her too and then it’s time to be going. Jared waves from the cart as Mr Speight directs his driver. He manages not to let any tears fall until his family are out of sight.

It never occurs to him to see what his mother did as a betrayal. Betrayal will come many years later, and at someone else’s hand.

~~~

Alpha Speight takes him to live with the Ackles family. They’re part of the Morgan clan. Jared’s never met anyone who was part of a clan before. His family was always too poor for that. Not worthy of admission to those circles. Not strong enough to be considered an asset to such a group. But he learns very quickly not to say any of this out loud. Alpha Ackles makes it very clear that Jared’s old life is never to be discussed again. The world may be going to hell in a handcart, but the Ackles family has a plan. And standards.

They also have only one Alpha heir. When Jared sees Jensen for the first time, and understands that they’re meant for each other, he can only think that his mother was right. He’s going to get everything he deserves.

When Jared first lays eyes on Jensen, Jared knows it won’t matter whether he turns out to be an omega or a beta, he won’t have any trouble obeying his Alpha, especially not when he’s so beautiful, so kind. 

He can put up with any amount of privation and hardship -- losing his family, the lack of freedom to leave the house, the etiquette lessons, the lectures on how to take care of the future Ackles heirs, the family’s fanatical insistence on the importance of breeding, and the near-constant emphasis on appearance, both how he looks physically and how the family looks to everyone else -- in the knowledge that the vision that is Jensen will someday be his. It’ll be worth it.  _ He _ will be worth it.

~~~

It’s nearly two decades later that he learns what means more to him than Jensen. And there’s no coming back from that.

"Let me see him!"

"Jay, no. Trust me, you don't need to know what that looks like."

"I want to see him! Let me past, gods damn you!" This last to the two orderlies who are blocking the way through to the children's ICU. He catches the nod from Jensen that means they stay exactly where they are and turns to face his husband, pleading with everything he has.

"Jensen, I..."

"There's nothing to see Jay, there's nobody home. Not anymore."

"He's my baby! You can't just-"

"I said no."

"But- !" Jared inhales sharply as Jensen's open palm connects with his cheek.

He's been taller than his husband since their teenage years, even with the age difference. And he’s never felt afraid of him, for all that biology and their society demand his obedience, once Jared’s omega status was confirmed. He’ll remember this moment, learn from it.

Jensen says, "We're going home."

Jared trying to beat his way through the door almost leads to the hospital staff sedating him. In the end, it's only Jensen's teeth at the back of his neck that ensure his compliance.

~~~

A few days later, they're in bed together, Jared unmoving, as his husband rocks into him, Jared's every muscle rigid with grief and burning anger. Jensen leans forward, noses lovingly at the nape of his neck, hot breath an ineffective tease, as he whispers in Jared's ear, "I was protecting you my love. You have to understand that. You wouldn't want the memory, trust me. You're already blaming yourself enough."

Jared's jaw creaks with the effort of staying silent. He knows who he blames and so does Jensen. And if he blames himself for anything, it's for thinking Jensen could be trusted to look after something so precious as their child. Tears glisten, bright and unshed, in the corners of his eyes. Not that his husband can see that.

"He was our son," Jared whispers, hisses, all constrained anger.

Jensen's movements are faster, jerkier now. He thrusts harder, his knot's already forming inside Jared, and Jared knows with the boring sort of inevitability that has coloured all their fucking since Ryan's death that his husband is going to come in 3, 2, 1...

Jensen grunts, on cue.

Then he wraps his arms around Jared's chest and rolls them both on to their sides. Makes meaningless snuffles of "love you", "love how you're still so tight" and "gonna breed you up with another baby, you'll see" against Jared's skin.

Jared just lies there, hating him.


	3. Chapter 3

Misha runs through the streets in the dawn light, the sound of Jensen’s laughter drifting back to him as they pound the fractured tarmac. Both of them are covered in blood, but it’s all other people’s and it feels great to be alive. He spots Jensen pausing for breath up ahead, and a plan forms in his mind. He increases his speed, and seconds later, barrels into Jensen, sending him tumbling into the dust and debris of the deserted street. Misha has always been strong for a beta. He tries not to think about it, but even as he’s relishing the ease with which he takes Jensen to the ground, he can’t help but think back to the change that overtook him, after Vicki’s death. Something about losing his Alpha changed him, made him stronger. The two of them wrestle in the road, rolling one another over and over. It would normally be madness for them to be out, alone, away from the clan. Especially in this concrete wasteland. But after the massacre they’ve left behind them, a crucial part of securing what’s now prime expansion territory, that’s no longer a problem.

After a few moments, Jensen manages to boot Misha off so he lands on the cracked asphalt beside him, expelling a little “oof” of air. Catching his breath, Misha feels Jensen clasp his hand in his own, his best friend first laughing and then letting out a victory call, half-scream, half-howl. Misha joins in, and then they hear the answering ululations from their surviving clan members across the district. They’ve won. The old city is claimed as new territory for Clan Morgan, with all the space and resources that entails. Their enemies have been obliterated. And now, it’s time to come home.

Jensen stands, before turning to offer his arm to help Misha up. Misha takes it and pulls, using the impetus to rise swiftly to his feet and then keep going, knocking Jensen to the ground again.

“You ass! I need to get back to Jared!”

Misha smiles, all sharp teeth, “Need? Or want?”

“Both?”

“Horn dog!”

“Can you blame me?”

Misha’s eyes cloud over briefly. Even after all these years. “No Jen, I really can’t.”

Jensen’s contrition is immediate. “Mish, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

“You didn’t make it about her. I did.” They’re not wrestling anymore. Just sitting on the ground, facing each other.

“Do you think you could ever, you know, find someone else?”

Misha shrugs. “I haven’t found them yet. I’m not convinced anyone could ever make up for losing her. But if the gods will it, maybe it’ll happen, someday.”

They’re so intent on each other, that they don’t immediately notice that they’re surrounded. The first indication Misha gets that anything is out of the ordinary, is when Jensen starts suddenly at something he sees over Misha’s shoulder. He cranes his head to look around and sees two… he thinks they’re women, but they mostly look like bundles of rags, standing behind him. A quick tilt of his head to one side and he spots a third figure behind Jensen..

Both of them are on their feet in a moment, back to back, knives out. There are three of them, whoever or whatever they are, slowly circling, but not getting any closer.

“Who are you and what do you want?” When he speaks, Misha’s voice is calm, but firm.

The first woman, and it is a woman, draws back her hood as she walks past him, circling past him to face Jensen. He barely has time to notice her beauty, smooth brown skin and a glorious mass of loosely coiled black hair before she starts speaking.

“Hail Jensen. Head of Morgan’s hunters.”

Misha wants to turn his head, keep her in vision, but that would mean looking away from the other two. Before he can react to her words, he’s aware of movement in front of him, the second figure also gliding past, moving towards Jensen. With her chalk-white skin and lustrous ginger hair, she is just as beautiful as the first.   
  
“Jen?” He doesn’t like this, not one bit.   
  
“I’m okay!” Jensen’s shouting to him, even though they’re practically back to back, “I think they just wanna talk.”

“Hail Jensen. Morgan’s clan second.” That must be the redhead.

This strange pronouncement shocks Misha into speech. “What? That doesn’t make any s-“

He’s cut off by the third woman. As she moves past him, Misha can see that, under the black rags, she has blonde hair, long and flowing, that darkens to brown at the tips. All three are gorgeous, but this one really takes his breath away.

“Hail Jensen. Who shall be clan king hereafter.”

Jensen is apparently too stunned to meet that with anything except silence. But Misha knows he has to get to the bottom of this.

“Who are you? You greet Jensen as head of our hunters and that’s true enough. But Jim Beaver is our clan second. Everybody knows that. And we already have a king, with two sons to succeed him.

There’s a pause, as he waits for them to answer. The women have stopped circling, but they don’t retreat, just stand, as if waiting for something.

So he tries again, “You had some pretty fine words for my friend. But you have nothing for me?”

As the words leave his mouth, Misha realises he’s not really prepared for whatever they might say next. This whole encounter is beyond anything he’s ever experienced. But it’s too late to second guess his instincts, because as soon as his mouth closes, the women start moving again, circling back in the opposite direction.

“Hail Dmitry. Father of Katerina.” He can’t see her, but he recognises the voice of the woman with black hair.

And now Misha is speechless, because how in hell do they know him by that name?  _ No one _ uses it.

“Hail Dmitry. Who will never be king, but will be father to the king.” That’s the redhead.

“Hail Dmitry. Father of generations of kings.” And the blonde.

“That’s impossible, I have no sons.” If Misha sounds confused, that’s because he is. And the silence coming from Jensen is no help. There’s a chill at his back as both of them step forward towards the women. They need to know more.

Finally, he hears Jensen commanding, “Tell me! How do you know these things about us? Are you saying this is what will happen or what might happen?”

All three women have taken a step back from them. The hairs rise on the back of Misha’s neck as the blonde just smiles at him, pressing a finger against her lips. Then she raises her hood to cover her hair, and he can sense the other two moving to do the same.

“Wait!”

Misha feels Jensen lurch away from him as he calls out. Misha steps forward too, the one woman directly in front of him is moving, no  _ fading _ away before his very eyes. He reaches for her wrist, but his hand passes straight through her arm. He tries again, with the same result. He walks quickly towards her, breaks into a run, but she just retreats, still smiling, growing smaller and more insubstantial before his eyes until he’s grasping at whisps of black and grey in the air that slip through his fingers and disappear.

He hears Jensen’s sharp intake of breath behind him. It seems the other two have vanished in the same fashion. Then his best friend is tapping him on the shoulder and they’re turning to face each other.

“Mish, what the fuck just happened?” 

He shakes his head. “I have no clue. Let’s get back to court. They’ll be waiting for us.”

~~~

By the time they make it back to the square where Clan Morgan is currently holding court, the other surviving hunters are already assembled in ranks facing the king, who’s flanked by his sons. In the space in front of the Royal family, there’s a captive, beaten bloody and kneeling, with his back to the clan, a hunter guarding him on either side. Misha’s not entirely sure what’s going on. He looks around for Morgan’s second, Jim Beaver, who’d normally be conducting any official clan proceedings but can’t spot him anywhere.

He and Jensen do their best to be unobtrusive, but Alpha Morgan spots them anyway and raises his voice so that everyone is alerted to their arrival.

“Welcome home boys. I’m glad you made it safely back to us. Now we can really get to the meat of the matter.” Morgan turns his attention once more to the fighters standing in front of him.

“Hunters of Clan Morgan! Today, you did us proud. Our enemies, the Lincolns, never stood a chance against you. But there was one of you who didn’t believe in us, in our clan, in our future.”

The king pauses and in the silence, Misha hears Jensen mutter an oath beside him. “Mish! Look! That man! It’s…”

But before Misha can fully take in what Jensen’s saying, the king continues.

“We were betrayed. But still, you won the day, and our betrayer will pay the price. You see him here before you. Clan justice is swift and we will not suffer a traitor to live under the clan’s protection.”

There’s another pause. In the silence it feels like Alpha Morgan is making eye contact with every single hunter before he continues.

“Jensen! Misha! Come forward.”

Misha catches Jensen’s eye as they fall out of line and head forward. He whispers out of the corner of his mouth.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing! Killed a fuckload of Lincoln’s men. Shut up, he’ll hear you.”

As they approach, the captive man is dragged slightly to one side, leaving space for Misha and Jensen to stand in front of their king. Morgan is smiling, and Misha relaxes slightly, but he still has no real clue what’s going on. The king’s next words are spoken to them personally, rather than to the clan at large.

“I’ve heard great things boys, I know you’re both responsible for winning us this battle. You turned the tide and guaranteed our victory. It’s time for you to be rewarded, and trust me, I won’t forget your loyalty.”

Then Morgan’s raising his voice again, addressing everyone.

“Jim Beaver has been tried and convicted of treason against the clan. He is no longer my second in command. I hereby name Jensen Ackles as his successor. Jensen do you accept?”

Misha and Jensen exchange startled glances before Jensen nods his acceptance, too shocked to speak.

“Jensen now is my deputy in all clan affairs. Follow his word as you would mine. And as Jensen has accepted his new responsibilities, I’ll be needing a new commander. Misha, will you lead my hunters?”

There’s a little ripple of surprise that runs through the ranks at that, and he can feel Jensen bristle beside him. Everyone knows Misha’s a beta, but as Jensen has often said, publicly, loudly, Misha’s a seasoned killer like the rest of them, just as deadly. Misha’s too shocked by the sudden truth of the prediction from the three strange women to be offended by the clan’s reaction.

He briefly nods his acceptance, light shining in his eyes, and the force of Morgan’s personality quickly quells any further disturbance.

“Now Jensen, for your first act as my second, I order you to dispense the clan’s justice. Bring the prisoner.”

It really is Jim Beaver, trussed up and beaten, being dragged between two hunters Misha knows well, Kim and Briana. It doesn’t look like the guards are necessary, Beaver’s head is slumped forward, his posture that of a broken man.

“What are the particulars of his offence, my lord?” Jensen asks.

“The Lincolns had given him a gun,” Morgan says softly. “If it weren’t for Kim and Briana here, he would have killed my sons.”

A gun? Misha’s mind is racing. Where on earth had the Lincolns acquired that? Their clan must’ve had even more resources than the rumours suggested. This victory is turning out to be an even bigger win for Clan Morgan than anyone had anticipated.

He watches as Jensen walks towards Beaver, the man’s already kneeling and this will be the easiest kill of their day by far.

“Why did he do it?”

“He won’t say. Not even to plead for his life.” Morgan’s tone is sad, tinged with disgust. He and Beaver have been friends for longer than anyone in the clan can remember.

“Any last words?” Jensen asks.

Beaver coughs. When he finally speaks, his voice is a rasp. “Just do what you have to do and make it quick.”

So Jensen does. Misha doesn’t look away as Jensen steps behind Beaver, pulls his head back by his hair and draws his knife in a clean cut across the man’s throat. Then there’s blood pouring out over Jensen’s hands and the body kicking and shuddering between his legs and then it’s over.

“Clan Morgan. We have a new second and a new commander.” The cheers break out before the king has finished speaking. Jensen turns to Misha and they embrace, both smiling, but Misha can see the uncertainty he feels reflected in Jensen’s eyes. Who, or what, were those three women? And how did they know what was about to happen?

Misha draws Jensen in close as they embrace, so only Jensen can hear what he says.

“What are you going to tell Jared?”

~~~

Jared’s nervous about seeing Jensen again. He’s managed to avoid having sex with his husband for a couple of months now, but a fight always gets Jensen riled up. And if the clan is victorious and Jensen makes it back alive, he’s not sure he’ll be able to pull of the same trick tonight. On the other hand, terrible sex with a man he despises, but who is at least familiar, is probably better than the entire Morgan clan being butchered by the Lincolns. Probably. As an omega, Jared has few illusions about what a defeat would mean for him. But he’s aware that he’s been miserable for long enough that his priorities might be a liiiiittle skewed.

It’s something of a bittersweet relief when the messenger arrives with news of the clan’s victory shortly after mid-morning. Jensen’s note is brief, “We won. Beaver betrayed us. I’m Morgan’s new second. He’s coming here tonight. Make sure we’re ready to entertain him. I have so much to tell you. See you soon my love.”

The message hints at far more than it reveals, and Jared can only guess at exactly what’s been going on, but the main points are clear. The clan survived, Jensen’s been promoted, and Jared has anywhere between six to eight hours to organise a celebratory banquet suitable for his king and clan.

It’s been months since they’ve had to entertain on that scale, longer since the king has called upon their hospitality, but he’s distracted as he moves about the building, overseeing the preparations. The Ackles stronghold was a hotel back when people still had a use for that sort of thing, and even though they can no longer use the old gas-fired ranges that were once the building’s pride and joy, the electric ovens they’ve had retro-fitted are an enviable luxury that work well enough when the solar panels are behaving themselves.

Jared orders the kitchen staff to lay on the best they can provide, they’ll be feeding at least 20 senior members of the clan tonight, and they’ll need at least four courses. But Jared’s mind is on other matters as he gives the instructions. Jensen has been made clan second. It’s about fucking time. When he’d been sold to Jensen’s family all those years ago, an omega of no breeding and no traceable background, they’d drilled him long and hard to act the part of upper echelon clan aristocracy. Jensen was being prepared for great things and Jared was to be the perfect consort to help him on his way to the kingship. The world they live in now might look very different from the one Old Man Ackles had envisioned when he’d had Jared instructed, but tonight will still be a real test of all that training.

There aren’t many flowers to be had at this time of year, and doubly so when so much of the green land in the ruined suburbs has been reclaimed for food cultivation, so Jared instructs their butler to make sure carefully-folded paper creations are included as part of the centrepieces for the banquet. She nods her understanding and he moves on to the next task.

They’ll need candles. Lots of candles. One of their storage cells is out of commission, sent to the blacksmith for repairs. So, although electricity would be luxurious, they don’t have the power to light the room and cook the dinner. There’s an amazing chandelier which hangs in the main dining room, it’ll look spectacular with its sconces filled with candles reflecting in the mirrors on all four walls. It used to take bulbs years ago, but no one’s yet worked out the technology to make ones the right size and shape. Someone on the planet must know somewhere, or there’ll be a long-forgotten book with instructions, gathering dust amidst the destruction. But that’s not going to be an option for tonight, so Jared asks the housekeeper to check their stocks and gives her money for more, in the event that filling the chandelier leaves them running low. Jared hopes the king will think it looks romantic. They can’t afford to squander this opportunity to impress.

He busies himself about the building, giving instructions and setting the servants in motion. It’s only once everyone’s been given a job to do and preparations are underway, and his brain comes to the end of its internal list that he realises where his feet have taken him, while his mind was preoccupied elsewhere.

Without meaning to, he’s followed the route to the old nursery. Given the date that’s fast approaching, Jared supposes it shouldn’t really be a surprise. The door creaks in protest as he gingerly pushes it open. A shaft of light falls through half-drawn curtains, illuminating Ryan’s cot in the middle of the room. It’s still covered by a veil, suspended from a mobile set up at one end. The room has a dry, sterile smell. It’s kept clean on his orders, but Jared knows Jensen never comes here and he hasn’t set foot in this room himself in months. Unbidden, the memories come rushing back… the last time he saw his son in here, the two of them playing peekaboo on the floor, Ryan gurgling his laughter, making sounds Jared liked to tell himself were words, even as he knew it wasn’t true. He’d been so happy that day. Never suspecting that hours later, they’d be rushing to the nearest hospital in the more select Upper Quadrant of the territory, begging for access. Jensen’s family name hasn’t proved good for much over the years, but it had been enough to get them through the doors. But not enough to save their son.

Until losing Ryan, until Jensen… even now Jared can’t bear to think about his husband’s role in their son’s death, the path to greatness had been easy and clear. And then it had all gone wrong. And despite his extravagant promises, his family’s assurances, Jensen has never made it up to him. Second in command… Jared’s not sure what  _ could _ make up for the years of grief and disappointment at this point, but news of the unexpected promotion rekindles the memories of all the old stories he was told growing up. Of Jensen ruling the clan, Jared at his side. And now, suddenly, they are one much larger step closer to making those old promises a reality. Now if only Jensen could be bold enough to take the next, crucial step, eliminating  _ anyone _ who stands in the way… Jared shivers where he stands, half aghast-half intrigued by the turn his thoughts have taken.

Jared hadn’t even had his first blood by the time he left his family, and it wasn’t obvious yet whether he’d turn out to be omega or beta, but his future had been made very clear from day one of his new life. Between them, Speight and the Ackles family had created an entire backstory for him. No one had ever explained to him exactly why they needed him. They’d just found a pretty breeding boy with well-defined features, but he’d picked up enough over the years to know that no families of equal standing with the Ackles would deign to marry one of their children off to Jensen. Not with his beta sister and two omega brothers. He’d heard snippets behind closed doors, sneaking into places he wasn’t supposed to be. “Only one Alpha in four children… a sure sign of a weak bloodline...” He’d been too young at the time to know what that meant exactly, but he’d known they were talking about Jensen, the boy destined to be his,  _ his _ Alpha, and a little possessive thrill had coursed through him.

Coming back to the present, Jared runs his hand over the cot rail telling himself, as he always does, that this is the last time he will come in here to say goodbye. He takes a deep shuddering breath. He knows the answer. Nothing can ever make up for what he lost all those years ago. But with nothing more to lose, Jared really does have everything to gain.

He leaves the room, tears shining in his eyes and a newfound dark resolve in his heart.


	4. Chapter 4

Jensen arrives home ahead of the clan seniors, stinking of blood, sweat and alcohol. Jared’s ready for him in their bedroom. Freshly bathed, and with a plan.

“You’re alive!” He takes his husband’s head in both hands and kisses him, long and slow, giving Jensen a chance to take in his scent. He used some of their very precious branded soap, left over from before the sickness. Clan alchemists have managed to rediscover the art of rendering animal fat for cleaning products, but what they produce is crude in comparison to this, usually unscented. What’s left of the label says it’s supposed to heighten all his pheromones, drive his Alpha crazy. He has no idea if that’s just marketing bullshit, but it still has a very distinctive smell that Jensen should recognise. Should recognise and know that Jared’s making an effort.

When they finally come up for air, he can already sense the arousal and possessiveness rolling off Jensen in waves, as he says, “There was no way I was going to let the Lincolns take you from me.”

“That was never going to happen. You’re far too brave and strong for that.” He knows he sounds ridiculous, but no one’s ever gone wrong telling Jensen Ackles what he likes to hear.

“I need to fuck you Jay. That sound good?”

Jared throws up his hands in mock disapproval. “Not in those clothes you don’t. Take them off and you have a deal.”

Jensen laughs and begins to strip. “Nothing but the best for you my love.”

Jared smiles back at him seductively then turns towards their bed, his back to Jensen so he doesn’t have to maintain the expression.

A few seconds later, he feels the heat of his husband pressed all the way up against the back of his body, the hard press of his dick nudging at Jared through his clothes, the scrape of Jensen’s stubble at the back of his neck.

“You’re wearing too many clothes sweetheart.”

“I want you to tear them off me,” Jared whispers back. He knows Jensen loves it. It drives him wild, it might make him more… suggestible.

“Is that so?” Jensen already sounds like he’s on the verge of losing control. Jared knows this could get rough, but he figures it’s worth it. If it gets them the crown.

“Please Jensen, please...”

He doesn’t need to say anything else, he was ready to deploy the hated A-word, but it turns out it’s not necessary. Jensen’s on him, a force of nature, teeth tearing at his shirt collar, yanking the fabric apart from the tear he’s made, Jared feels the chill of the air in the room as the shirt falls away from his back, then Jensen’s pressed against his back, arms reaching around Jared so he can dig his fingers in the gaps between the buttons and pull the shirt apart at the front.

There’s a sudden chill as Jensen releases him, before Jared is pushed face first and half-naked onto the bed. He makes a show of trying to crawl away, it used to be all part of the fun for them, and Jensen reacts exactly as expected.

“Oh no you don’t my love.”

Jared almost laughs as he feels himself dragged back down the best by the belt loops and then Jensen’s kneeling on the back of his knees, teeth making two tears in the waistband of Jared’s jeans. He hears the fabric tear as Jensen wrenches it back with enough force that Jared bends back off the bed. Then it’s teeth and nails scoring two lines down the seat and legs of the trousers until Jared’s fully exposed.

“No underwear? Oh baby, you drive me crazy.”

“No,  _ you _ drive  _ me _ crazy.”

Jared hisses in pain when Jensen bites his ass, but he knew this was coming and he dips his back in response, presenting himself for more of the same.

Jensen doesn’t disappoint, and while he bites Jared on the other cheek, he’s already running a finger down his crack, finding Jared’s cunt and inserting a teasing fingertip.

“Oh sweetheart, you’re dripping. You just couldn’t wait for me to get home and fuck you senseless, could you?”

It’s oil. Jared’s been using it as lubrication for years and Jensen’s never noticed that Jared doesn’t get wet for him anymore.

“Please Jen, need you inside me.”

His husband has two fingers in him now, prodding and stretching, and Jared reckons a moan or two would be appreciated at about this point, so he lets one loose.

"You're nearly ready for me baby, don't worry." Jensen gives Jared a small, sharp slap across the buttocks, making him tighten reflexively around his husband's fingers. Okay, the noise he lets out at that might be more real than fake, he'll give Jensen that one. Next thing he knows, Jensen's biting him hard on the scruff of his neck and he might be just a little turned on, in spite of himself.

"Missed you Jay," Jensen breathes roughly in his ear, as he releases the bite. "Where have you been?"

Apart from the fact that he despises his husband, truth is, this time of year Jared just wants to be left alone with his grief. That Jensen either can't seem to care about or remember why kills any enjoyment Jared’s feeling and nearly makes him call off the whole thing completely.

But then he feels the head of Jensen's cock at his cunt and he fucks back onto it mercilessly, thrusting his hips up so he can take Jensen inside him in one long slide. He has an end game, and this? This is just the opening move.

Turning things back on his husband, he looks over his shoulder and pouts. "I missed you too."

His Alpha growls in response and grabs Jared's hips, taking over control, pulling out and ramming home with no finesse again and again and again. Jared grips the bed clothes in both hands and hangs on for dear life. He can feel the beginnings of Jensen's knot catching on re-entry each time. Once Jensen's tied off inside him, they can talk, and Jared can move on to Phase Two. 

There's a grunt behind him and it's on the verge of too much to bear as Jensen shoves inside him for the final time. He feels his husband's knot swell, filling his hole with come, as he reaches down surreptitiously to jerk himself off. Jensen's orgasm-drunk behind him and will stay that way for a few minutes so he'll be none the wiser as to how Jared achieved climax.

By the time he's done, Jensen's brain has rebooted to the point that he can haul Jared up off the bed, flail his arms around him in something approaching an embrace and clumsily topple the two of them sideways onto the mattress. They hit with a thud, both of them exhaling sharply with the impact. And to think Jared used to consider this part romantic.

Once they’re lying down, they both doze off for a few minutes, coming down from their respective highs. Jared’s brain is back online first, he can tell by the way Jensen grunts in annoyance when he starts trying to find a more comfortable position. Jared ignores him and manages to get himself settled.

Jensen’s fingers are combing gently through his hair and Jared finds it distracting in spite of himself. He’s desperately thinking of how he can start a conversation and steer it round to where it needs to go, when Jensen says,

“Strangest thing happened today Jay…”

“You beat the Lincolns?” he teases.

Jensen chuckles. “How dare you. No, this was after…” His voice tails off and Jared picks up a hint of uncertainty.

“What happened?”

“Mish and I were heading back to court and we saw, we saw… I don’t know what we saw.”

Jared elbows him in the ribs. “This story is shaping up to be the most boring one you’ve ever told.”

He’s not expecting what Jensen says next. “Do you believe in magic, Jay?”

Never mind boring, it might just be the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard.

“What?”

“There were these women, all in black, just appeared out of nowhere. And they knew things, told us things…

“Like what?”

“…and then they came true.”

“How do you mean?”

“They said I was leader of Morgan’s hunters.”

Jared snorts, “That’s not exactly a secret Jen.”

He can  _ feel _ the affronted glare Jensen’s directing at the back of his neck. “Shut up and listen. I’d never seen them in my life before, how did they know who I am? Anyway, then they said I would be Morgan’s second in command,  _ before it had even happened _ .”

“Huh.”

“Mish and I got back to court and they were ready to execute Jim… and then, Morgan called us to the front, then, then he just promoted me, in front of everyone and had me carry out the sentence, it was...all so fast.”

“Wow.”

Jared’s still sceptical about the powers of these fortune-telling tramps, but Jensen’s too caught up in the telling of the tale to notice, and besides, he can’t see Jared’s face.

“But that’s not all Jay, the third thing they said, after the bit about becoming second… they said I’d be… that I’d be king one day!”

Oh. Oh they did, did they? This is perfect.

Jared pulls away from Jensen’s chest. His husband’s knot has deflated and his dick slides free as Jared stretches out and then rolls over so they’re face to face.

He leans in and kisses Jensen slowly, tongue licking teasingly over his lips before he slips it into Jensen’s mouth, hands clasping Jensen’s head, scraping his fingernails through the short hair on the back of his neck. When he pulls back, he can see his husband’s eyes are already darkening with lust again. Good.

“Do you believe them? Do you think it’s really going to happen?” He starts kissing Jensen’s neck, working his way down towards his chest.

“I don’t know Jay… I mean, they were right about the promotion. I guess it could be true.” Jensen’s got one hand in Jared’s hair, as if he thinks this is his idea, but Jared’s known from the start of this interaction exactly where he’s heading. Pun intended.

In between kisses, he starts to slide down the bed. He gives Jensen a tiny nip above the navel, then pulls back to lock gazes with his husband. “Have you thought about it? About what you could do to make it true?”

He has his lips on Jensen’s skin again before his husband can answer, licking and sucking his way down his treasure trail.

“Wha-? What, Jay what do you mean?”

Jared’s legs are practically all the way off the bed at this point, so he slides the rest of the distance, tugging free from Jensen’s grip and ending up kneeling on the floor. It’s not subtle, but he hauls on Jensen’s legs until he gets the picture and ends up sitting on the edge of the mattress. Instead of answering, he starts to give Jensen the most teasing, torturous blowjob of his life, beginning with little tongue flicks and gentle kisses to the head of Jensen’s cock. He’s half-hard already and so responsive. When Jared finally wraps his lips around the head to take Jensen into his mouth, he gets immense satisfaction from the shudder that runs through the other man’s body.

Jared moves slowly, stroking his hands slowly up the inside of Jensen’s thighs as he sucks more and more of him into his mouth. He can almost hear Jensen’s bones creaking with the effort of staying still. It’s been a long time since they’ve done this, but Jared’s never forgotten how to tease his Alpha. The Ackles family made sure he was well trained for their favourite son. He’s sure they never intended for him to use his education for what he has in mind, but they’re long dead and Jared has his own plans now.

When his hands reach Jensen’s thighs, he wraps them around the base of his husband’s cock. Jensen’s knot is only partially inflated and he probably won’t grow to full size this time around, but Jared starts to work him with both hands anyway, moving his hands up to meet his lips, his spit slicking the way for his fingers and making Jensen groan with pleasure.

“Jay..?”

He sits back and looks up at Jensen, keeps his hands still moving over Jensen’s shaft. “Do you really want me to stop?”

“No, it’s just… what did you mean, about making it true?”

Jared sighs, and tries his best to look thoughtful. “Well, you had to kill Jim to secure your position as clan second. Maybe it…” he pauses and looks away, as if the thought is too much to bear. But he knows he made peace with the idea when he left Ryan’s nursery earlier.

“What? Talk to me Jay!”

“Maybe…maybe it means you have to kill the king to get the throne.” He doesn’t give Jensen a chance to respond, but immediately goes back to fucking him with his mouth, not giving his husband a moment to string the brain cells together to form a coherent argument against it.

But Jensen tries his best. And Jared knows this could be his only chance to persuade him. The king is going to be in their home tonight. The timing will never be as perfect again.

“But… he’s given me everything.”

Jared pulls off again. “And made you wait how many years for it?”

He runs his tongue up the underside of Jensen’s dick from base to tip. “You deserve so much more. You always have.”

“He’s a good man, a good leader…”

Lick. Suck. Kiss.

“You’d be a better one.”

“His… his sons. If he, if he dies, they’re next in line…”

Stroke. Flick. Twist.

“We’ll figure something out.”

Jared’s done talking and does his damnedest to make sure Jensen’s done thinking. He moves his hands faster and faster, sucking and jerking for all he’s worth, until he feels Jensen start to come undone for him.

His husband climaxes with a strangled cry and Jared pulls off just in time so that he takes the load full in the face. Jensen never used to be able to resist him like this and he parts his lips to catch a little of it, making a show of licking up what he can reach around his mouth and swallowing it down with a moan like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.

His eyes are closed, to show just how gone for this he is, but he can hear Jensen’s agonised groans above him, can feel the claiming touches as his husband massages his spend into Jared’s cheeks. His smile is real. He’s so close to getting Jensen exactly where he wants him.

Jared opens his eyes and looks up through his eyelashes.

“You couldn’t give me another baby. You couldn’t give yourself another heir.” It’s almost a whisper, he doesn’t want to break the mood, but Jared throws all the guilt and accusation he can muster behind the words, arching his neck at its most seductive angle, willing his body to show the submission he can’t truly feel. “But you can give us the throne. Do it for us, please. For you.”  _ For me. _

He hears himself speak and waits for his heart to crack. To shrivel and die. To explode out of his chest in protest at the monstrousness of what he’s suggesting. There’s nothing.

Just an excited little surge of fire in his veins as Jensen answers him.

“I’ll do it Jay. For us. I’ll kill him.”

Jared leans forward and presses a final, chaste kiss to the tip of Jensen’s dick.

“Thank you.”

~~~

Some would say Alpha Morgan is past his prime. Watching him at the banquet that he’s had to cobble together in the man’s honour, Jared would agree with them, but only in the privacy of his own head. Morgan’s eldest son, Brock, has just turned 17, nearly of an age to succeed him. The youngest, Colin, 12, would be about Ryan’s age. If Ryan had lived.

But Jared will say this for the man. Alpha Morgan understands loss. His wife. Beloved clan consort Sam Ferris. It’s rare for a clan to have as many betas in senior positions as Morgan’s does. Sam and Misha were unusual. Especially Misha, rising to such a trusted position. But after his Alpha wife died, he threw himself into clan affairs to cope. Some say it means his Alpha side is re-asserting itself, pushing back the omega. Jared’s been watching him on and off all evening trying to decide whether he thinks it’s true. Misha’s always been good to him.

He looks around at their other guests, all Alphas, all heads of families within the clan, it’s been a long time since he’s seen most of them. The two Marks, Pellegrino and Sheppard. Richard Speight, short for an Alpha, but cunning. Jared’s seen him take down men twice his size, swift as a snake. The longer he’s known the man, the more Jared’s been impressed with how he’d masterminded Jared’s introduction into polite society, producing him as a long-lost cousin from a distant branch of a friend’s family, or whatever the exact nonsense had been, at the opening of the annual mating ceremony. When in reality he’d spent the previous 10 years secreted away in the Ackles’ family home. He finds himself wondering idly how much Jensen’s father had paid Speight for his services. Probably more than 20 sacks of flour that’s for sure. Everyone in the clan knows he’s the main matchbroker in their ranks. He has a reputation to keep up. Faking Jared’s background can’t have been cheap.

Then his eyes land on Sam Smith. Jared doesn’t know her very well. He remembers there was talk of her and Morgan being a thing, back in the day, before she turned out to be an Alpha. It would never have worked. She’d been good friends with Sam Ferris though, despite all that. It would be hard to say who was more destroyed by her death, Morgan or Smith.

Jared thinks all these things, moving among the guests, making sure they’re having a good time, flirting a little with those who aren’t joining in the conversation, trying to get them to open up, overseeing a smooth service. The staff have really outdone themselves, he thinks fondly, no one enjoying this party would think it could possibly be the prelude to a murder.

After the last course has been cleared away, Morgan bangs his hand on the table for silence.

“My friends, thank you all for coming. Today is a great day in the history of our clan! Our mortal enemies are vanquished. And that is down to the actions of each and every one of you here in this hall. And in no small part, down to the actions of one man, Jensen Ackles!”

A cheer erupts around the room, and Jensen does his best to look modest, something he’s never been very good at, in Jared’s opinion.

Morgan waits for the noise to dissipate, before raising his glass to the assembled company. “A toast!” he shouts, “To Jensen Ackles and to victory.”

Jared raises his own glass and joins in as the assembled lords echo their leader. Jensen disappears momentarily from sight underneath a pile of people variously patting him on the back, embracing him, or putting him in a headlock and giving his scalp a vigorous knuckle polish, that last one from Misha.

Once everyone is seated again, Morgan continues, “I have one further announcement.” He turns to his right, where his sons are seated next to him. “Brock, stand up.”

Morgan’s oldest son rises to his feet and silence descends on the assembled crowd.

“You all know me,” Morgan says slowly, “And you all know my son. I’d always hoped to pass on the kingship to my own blood, but we all know it doesn’t have to work like that. But my son is of age now, and in the absence of any other challengers to the title, now seems as good a time as any…” Morgan pauses, to let the full weight of his words sink in, “…to name him officially as my anointed successor.”

They’d talked about this in the privacy of their bedroom. Clan rules say anyone can challenge the blood heir for the title of anointed successor. If they defeat them in single combat, they supplant them. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s entirely possible. Jensen could easily beat Brock in a fight, but it would look mighty suspicious to become the new heir and then have the king die under his roof all in the space of one night. They have to let tradition take its course. Jared looks for Jensen as Morgan pauses waiting to see if anyone will speak up. His husband is tense in his seat, hands tightly gripping the arms of his chair, but he doesn’t do anything foolish.

The king continues, and Jared lets out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.

“Kneel, my son.”

Brock goes to one knee before his father and is sworn in, in front of the entire clan. The cheers that erupt once he’s finished the vows echo up to the vaulted ceiling. And then everyone proceeds to get very, very drunk.

Everyone except Jared and Jensen. Jared sees his husband putting on the perfect front, the embodiment of mirth and good cheer, but every time Jensen goes to drink from his glass, he’s “distracted” by someone or something, a comrade-in-arms who’s pulled into a tight embrace, a new delicacy on a platter being carried past by one of the serving staff. At one point, Jared even sees him empty his glass into someone else’s, insisting that they not be deprived. When Jensen spots Jared looking at him, he smiles.

Jared makes a circuit of the room a few times, but first stops to congratulate Brock and pay him homage as the new heir. That he’s seen doing this could be important later. Eventually he decides he’s pressed enough flesh and returns to his seat at the high table.

He’s joined a few moments later by the king who flops down beside him.

Jared bows his head in acknowledgement. “Your Majesty.”

“Jaaaared!” The king’s voice is booming, he’s full of good humour, but Jared doesn’t think he’s especially inebriated, just happy.

“You honour us by coming here to celebrate, sire,” he says, a fixed smile on his face. The party’s going well, but it was a fucking nightmare to organise, even with help.

“The honour is all mine.” The king appears to be oblivious to the forced politeness of his remark. Just another perk of the job, Jared decides.

“You… and your husband… both mean so much to me.” Jared feels the man clasping his hands as he says it, he’s keeping his eyes turned down, omega consort to the king’s second, showing due deference to the monarch, he doesn’t want to do anything to draw unnecessary attention.

“Jared, you can look at me.”

He does, and almost pulls his hands back in surprise, such is the intensity of Morgan’s gaze. He doesn’t know if the king’s expecting a response and he doesn’t know what to say, so he opts for silence.

The king may not be drunk, but he’s definitely been drinking, because he doesn’t appear to notice that Jared doesn’t answer. He just grips Jared’s hands tightly in his.

“Jensen brought us victory today. And you have done him proud this evening.”

Jared tilts his head in acknowledgement. “Thank you sire.”

“You really can look me in the face you know, I’m giving your permission.”

He raises his head just in time to see the king wink as he says it.

“I don’t want to presume.”

The king raises one hand to his lips and kisses it. His lips are soft and warm against Jared’s knuckles.

There’s nothing wrong here, no impropriety, they’re in full view of everyone in the hall, not that anyone’s paying them any attention, and the king lets go of his hands immediately afterwards.

But there’s so little tenderness in this world, and almost none in Jared’s marriage. His thoughts flicker treacherously towards his and Jensen’s plan, leaving him feeling a little shaken and unsteady. He needs to pull himself together.

“Please consider this permission to look me in the face at all times and in all places. I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to see your face.”

It’s so cheesy, Jared can’t help but laugh, and finds himself lowering his head reflexively as he does, which makes him laugh all the more. It takes a good 20 seconds before he manages to stop laughing and compose his expression. Blushing slightly, he looks up at the king, who’s smiling indulgently at him.

“Thank you sire.”

He excuses himself after that, murmuring that he has to check on the kitchen staff. It’s not entirely a lie. The rest of the evening passes in a blur of faces, handshakes, and instructions to staff, but shortly before midnight, he becomes aware that the crowd is definitely starting to thin out.

Finally, Jared and Jensen are the only two left in the hall, as befits the hosts. They haven’t really spoken to each other since their time in the bedroom after Jensen arrived home. The air is heavy with anticipation, but Jared’s not entirely sure what he’s waiting for. He’s done his part, took the guards a carafe of wine himself. Returned several times to keep them entertained and make sure they were drinking it. Now Jensen just needs to get on with it. Then they can go to bed and wake up in a bright new world.

And then Jensen says,

"You should go to him. He'll be expecting it."

He's not being explicit, but Jared knows what his husband means.

He doesn't want to. He can't remember the last time he looked forward to sex.

"Since when do you care about what's expected?"

He's leaning against their long dining table, the hall deserted except for the two of them, but he suddenly feels pinned in place by the strength of Jensen's gaze in the echoing empty space. As his husband approaches from his place at the end of the table, Jared turns his eyes to meet him.

"Since you convinced me, Jay. We can have this, we can do it. But we have to do it right. We've just wiped out an entire clan. It's a celebration. I'll give him his rights, this once. It seems only fair." Jensen chuckles. "Anyone could see how he was staring at you all night. Like a lovesick teenager."

It's true. Even before their little conversation, Jared had caught the king gazing at him more than was strictly polite throughout the meal. His husband is in front of him now, the fingers of one hand gently stroking Jared's cheek, before pulling him close and whispering, “Do this for me Jay. Tire him out and make him sleep so deep he never sees the knife coming. Just this once and I'll give you everything you've always deserved."

Jared huffs out a discontented sigh. He knows Jensen won't force him, but he hasn't outright refused.

"Think how it'll look in the morning, if I haven't sent you, it'll be like we knew something bad was coming, like we had something to hide."

He's right and Jared knows it. Jensen might be a piss-poor excuse for a husband, but he's always been a good strategist.

"Fine, I'll go to him," Jared hears himself say.

Good. It's for the best. You'll see."


	5. Chapter 5

Jared takes back any thoughts he ever had about Alpha Morgan being past his prime. Maybe he is getting old, but he’s still impossibly handsome. On top of that, Jared's having more fun between the sheets with him than he has with Jensen for many years. He almost doesn't need to fake his ecstatic sighs and moans.

Morgan's licking at this hole, tongue parting his delicate folds to make way for two insistent fingers that scissor inside Jared in the most delightful of ways. He feels his hips give an involuntary squirm off the bed, Morgan's fingers inside him press him down against the mattress in response and he shakes reflexively, fucking his cunt down on the other man's hand. Morgan's tongue is flicking around his fingers and it feels amazing, so alien, Jared's struggling to process exactly what's going on down there. He doesn't remember the last time Jensen did anything other than please himself. Jared's first orgasm takes him by surprise after only a couple of minutes and he's left gasping as the sudden wetness surges out of him over Morgan's hand.

A few moments later, his mind still a pile of sparkling shards slowly knitting back together, he hears, "Taste yourself. You taste so good."

Jared sucks traces of his own slick off the Alpha's fingers, reminding himself this is a seduction, that it needs to be a show - a wanton moan here, a little flutter of his eyelashes there. Turns out what works on Jensen works on Alpha Morgan too.

The man's other hand is in Jared's hair, fingers gripping enough to pull but not to hurt, directing Jared's head ever so slightly as he trails his tongue over the Alpha's fingers.

Jared reaches for Morgan's cock. The goal of this whole encounter is to have the king sated and sound asleep after all, but Morgan pulls his fingers out of Jared's mouth to grab hold of his wrist before he gets there.

"Time enough for that. Does your husband know you're here?" That last is a whispered growl against Jared's ear that sets his skin tingling. He wonders which answer would be more of a turn on. Ends up going with the truth. A version of it anyway.

“He sent me. To show our loyalty."

"In that case, aren't you forgetting something?" There's arousal and amusement in Morgan's voice in equal measure as he tightens his grip on Jared's hair, the nails of his free hand scoring white lines down Jared's neck and chest while he talks.

"You're m-y king," he gasps out, adding a little breathy tremor on the second word for good effect, "and I will serve you however you wish. But you're not my Alpha."

Morgan's warm chuckle tells Jared he's sold the performance.

"You're so beautiful Jared. And so obedient. Jensen's a lucky man. And a generous one."

"Yes, yes he is." The lie doesn't stick in his throat anymore. Years of use have worn the sharp edges off the painful untruth.

"But tonight, you're lucky too. Because you're going to get fucked by the king."

It takes all of Jared's self-control not to roll his eyes. But so far, the man's proven himself no slouch in the bedroom department. There's a chance this could actually be a pleasure and not a duty. He sinks back on the bed as Morgan guides him down with the hand still gripping his hair. He lets his arms sprawl artfully above his head, displaying his abs to their best advantage.

"How many times are you going to come tonight Jared?"

"As many as you allow me."

Morgan smiles at him indulgently. "Come now, I know Jensen isn't all that traditional in the way he treats you."

That hasn’t been true for some time now. But Jared doesn’t have it in him to explain. And he knows the Alpha isn’t really asking.

"Don't tell me what you think I want to hear Jared. What do you  _ really _ want?"

“I… I want your mouth and your tongue again. I want you to fuck me as many ways as you can think of, until I can't remember my husband's name."

He wonders if he's laying it on a little thick with that last bit, but if he's going to encourage Morgan to wear himself out, he needs to rile him up.

And as the words leave his mouth, he realises they're the truth.

“Such a dirty mind Jared."

Morgan is looking at him, almost wistfully.

"Don't tell me these things just because I'm your king."

"I'm not."

It's the most honest Jared's been in the bedroom in years. But before he has too much time to think about that, Morgan's mouth is on him again, his clever tongue darting inside Jared, teasing and tormenting, alongside two fingers which stretch and stroke inside him until he's bucking his hips up off the bed with the sheer pleasure of it.

Morgan chuckles, throwing his free arm over Jared's slim waist to pin him down on the mattress.

“Now I can see why Jensen’s never let me at you before. If I’d known sooner just what he’s been hoarding all to himself, I’d’ve sent for you every time I visited.”

The man’s fingers and tongue are driving Jared crazy and the sense of possession in his voice doesn’t hurt either. Jensen just treats like Jared like he’ll always be there. There’s a reverence in Morgan’s voice as he takes Jared apart that makes him feel treasured, worshipped, worthy. Jensen’s not cruel in bed, but to him, Jared’s just a set of beautiful holes.

“Wanted you for so long sire,” he manages to gasp. It’s only half a lie. He’s wanted anyone but Jensen for years now, but never had the opportunity.

“But you were too obedient to ask? Gods, you’re perfect.”

Then Morgan stops talking because his mouth is sliding down over Jared’s cock and it’s all Jared can do not to come instantly. It feels so good, he wants it to last. His whole body is shaking with the pleasure and the intensity of it. Someone is swearing “oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck” and giving little hitched gasps of breath and it’s a few moments before he realises it’s him. That mouth on his dick and the two fingers inside him are working together to break him apart. He thrusts upwards, fucking into Morgan’s mouth on instinct, unable to remember ever feeling so out of control. The king laughs with his mouth around Jared’s cock and that sets off a whole new wave of sensation that leaves him begging “please, please, please” over and over again. Morgan pulls his fingers slowly out of Jared’s cunt with a sharp flick at the end that leaves him quivering and desperate, then two hands are on his hips holding him down as the Alpha’s mouth tightens around the base of his cock. Jared bucks and shakes as Morgan draws his mouth up to the tip, slow and teasing. Then before he can register what’s happening, Morgan’s inside him to the hilt and Jared’s coming, covering himself in his own release as Morgan jacks his cock.

He doesn’t have time to come down from the high of that orgasm because already he can feel Morgan’s knot forming, catching at the rim of his cunt as the King slams into him. He’s wet and stretched and it feels so, so good. Jensen’s big, but Alpha Morgan is even bigger and Jared’s relishing every inch. He’s vaguely aware of the other man lifting his legs up and over his hips and Jared can just about muster enough brain cells to lock his legs around the king’s waist and draw him in. He’s almost out of his mind with pleasure when he hears the Alpha’s gruff command.

“Touch yourself.”

His hands move to his nipples.

“Not there.”

“I- I can’t!”

“Yes you can.”

Then Morgan’s taking one of Jared’s hands in his and together they’re working his cock. And Jared’s already firming up again, but it’s too much, half-pain half-pleasure, he’s almost crying with how  _ much _ he’s feeling, when Morgan slides home for the final time and then they’re locked together and he feels the king’s knot inside him, pulse after pulse making him tremble all over and before Jared knows it, he’s coming again and it’s so intense, the best kind of pain on his over-stimulated dick and the best kind of pleasure inside where he feels  _ full _ and  _ pressure _ and  _ owned _ in a way he hasn’t felt for so long.

Morgan has some mercy on him after that, for a while at least. He lets Jared catch his breath, wipes the tears from the corners of his eyes as he lies there, shuddering every so often as the Alpha’s dick inside him pulses once more. Then he pulls Jared up off the bed into his arms and holds him tight against his chest, unheeding of how messy Jared is. And if Jared cries silently while this is happening, no one needs to know except him. Then Morgan co-ordinates lowering the two of them gently onto their sides and starts kissing Jared, deep and filthy, while carding his fingers through his hair. But just when Jared is sure he’s about to fall asleep, tired and tied, the king rolls him onto his back. And pulls out.

It’s not painful exactly, the Alpha’s knot has gone down considerably, but it’s still a deliciously slow stretch that  _ hurts so good  _ and has Jared all worked up again by the time Morgan’s done. And then he kneels over Jared, slowly, deliberately jacking off, getting the last of his spend out in stripes of white that paint Jared from his waist to his forehead. Then Morgan’s smearing come over his chest, pinching and twisting Jared’s nipples until he climaxes, screaming, for the final time.

Jared’s last thought before he passes out is that it's too bad the old man won't live to see another sunrise.

~~~

When he comes to, Morgan's lying next to him, mostly naked except for a blue robe that's cinched loosely around his waist with a belt. The bright blue sets off the dark curls of his chest hair beautifully, and the king is lying on his stomach, head pillowed on his arms and turned to one side, just so...

... _ just so he can watch me open my eyes _ . Jared's brain supplies. It’s sappy, but…

He suddenly feels self-conscious in a way that has nothing to do with the fact that he's still naked.

He's also rested and maybe, even happy? Just existing in a post-orgasmic haze. Not thinking about what will happen later, not even a little bit.

“How long have I been out?” He mumbles.

The Alpha smiles at him indulgently. “About 30 minutes.”

As Jared comes more and more awake, he realises he’s still filthy. It’s not pleasant, but Royal prerogative he supposes. The urge to take a shower is strong.

He yawns and stretches and looks around for his nightshirt, a hand towel, anything.

“I should…”

“Stay.”

Morgan’s hand is cupping his cheek and Jared was so distracted with trying to wake up that he never saw him move.

“I… what?”

He still feels doped up on orgasms and he’s struggling to connect the words the king just spoke with the meaning behind them.

“Stay with me. I need a new consort, have done for a long time. You’d be perfect and…”

Jared’s staring. He can feel himself staring, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

“I have the right to take you for my own,” the king is saying, “Jensen couldn’t stop me. But…”

This is insane.  _ Insane _ . Of everything he’d expected about how tonight might go, this was never even on the cards. For a few seconds, he has no idea what to do.

“…I won’t force you. I know that… despite everything… you’re happy with him.”

Jared’s not happy. Hasn’t been in years. It’s a lie he’s told the whole world, for Jensen and his family’s sake. They’ve owned Jared almost as long as he can remember. There was never another option, until… until… This last couple of hours have been… amazing. He could have  _ this _ , every. single. night. He’s never been with anyone else except Jensen and their sex life had been fine before Ryan died. He’d thought it had been enough because he’d never had anything else to compare it with. In the years that have passed since, however… Jared knows he’s just grown accustomed to a loveless, passionless marriage and accepted it as an inevitable result of the crap cards life has dealt him.

Morgan’s offering him a way out… But on whose terms?

Earlier this evening, he’d felt, for the first time, like he was finally in control. Of his life, of his future, of everything. It was heady, freeing. He can’t lose that. No way. He makes a decision.

“Sire, I would be so honoured. But I can’t. I… I love him.” He used to. He really did. That bright, shining memory helps him make it convincing.

Morgan doesn’t say anything, so Jared takes that as permission to continue.

“Jensen and I… we’ve been through a lot. Losing Ryan was difficult.”  _ Heartbreaking. Life-ending. Devastating _ . He takes a deep breath. “It was hard, for both of us. And I know you know what that’s like. I’m all Jensen has left. I can’t leave him. And… I don’t think you want to do that to someone who has been nothing but loyal to you.”

He watches Morgan’s face closely. They’ve been eyeball to eyeball this whole time, but when Jared mentions loyalty, the king closes his eyes and dips his head in acknowledgement.

“You’re right Jared. I’m being selfish. I may not have Sam, but I see her every day in our two boys. Jensen doesn’t deserve to lose you too.”

“Thank you for understanding. I should go to him.”

The king nods. “Yes, you should. Don’t waste any more time here.”

Jared rolls on to his side, swinging his feet off the bed and onto the carpet. He’s reaching for his nightshirt, discarded in a heap on the floor, when he feels a tug on one arm. He half turns back towards Morgan, and then the king is kissing him, tongue pushing into his mouth. Jared lets him in, closes his eyes, tries not to moan. When they finally pull apart, Jared can feel the heat in his cheeks and his heart is beating fast. He pulls his shirt on almost defensively and walks to the door.

“Good night Jared. I look forward to the next time.”

“Me too,” he says, wishing he could really mean it. He blows the king a kiss and shuts the door quietly behind him.

He meets Jensen in the corridor leading to the king's suite. The snores of the drugged guards are an intermittent hum in the background.

Jensen's back in his battle uniform. And it would stir something in Jared if he still had any affection left for his husband. Jensen's always been a great warrior and when they'd been in love, Jared had always relished the same strength that Jensen brought to the battlefield being used to pin him to their bed. But now he knows there are ways beyond strength to get what he wants. His husband is all brawn and no brain. Or he'd've figured out years ago the depths of Jared's loathing for him.

He suddenly realises Jensen's staring intently at him, and wonders if he might finally,  _ finally  _ have given himself away.

Then his husband says, "You reek. Of him. And sex." 

"What do you care?" It comes out more of a whisper than he'd intended because suddenly Jensen's getting up close and personal and Jared's vision is mostly taken up with those bright green eyes that had bewitched him from the very first moment they'd laid eyes on each other, arranged marriage or no. Until everything had gone to shit.

Jared's head is a mess. Maybe it's because his blood is still up from fucking Morgan, from the king’s offer and that final kiss, but he finds himself shifting his weight, hips tilting forward, head leaning back, feeling Jensen's hardness through his leathers and offering his neck in response. He's learning the strength of hate as a force of attraction.

He doesn't realise he's closed his eyes until he feels the brush of Jensen's tongue over his eyelids, then his cheeks, lips, then it's gone.

“You're covered in come sweetheart."

"I know," he gets out, through gritted teeth.

Jared's half-aroused, half-annoyed. Fucking Morgan had not been his idea. He'd gone along with it because it was a good plan. But he hadn't  _ wanted _ it. At least, not until it was happening. He can admit that to himself even if he'll never tell Jensen.

His eyelids flutter open in time to see Jensen's tongue retreating behind his lips, rolling the taste around his mouth. Savouring.

"Whose is it?" Jensen demands. "His or yours?"

"Both." Jared whispers. They're almost chest to chest and Jared is fighting his every urge to just wrap his legs around this man's waist and ride him against the wall like they're newly-betrothed all over again. It's far, far too late for that to fix anything, but Jensen's looking at him with a fire in his eyes that has been absent for such a long time.

“He asked me to leave you,” Jared says quietly. Just to see what happens next.

Then Jensen's grabbing both his wrists and pinning them against the wall above Jared's head so he can lean in and growl in his ear, “And what did you say?”

“I said no.” Any lingering doubts Jared may have had are fast disappearing under Jensen’s onslaught. This is new. It’s not what they had before, but he’ll gladly take it over years of disappointment.

“Good. You’ve always been mine. No one else can have you.”

“I don’t want anyone else.” It’s not true, Jared tells himself. Morgan has shown him that a whole world of possibilities exists, but writhing like a wanton under Jensen’s grip, he can make his husband believe it.

Jensen’s using his free hand to scratch and scrape over the skin of Jared’s neck, catching at the traces of the night’s activities.

"You're so filthy Jay." He’s almost growling.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" he snarls back.

"First, I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch who thinks he can take what's mine." Jared almost yelps as Jensen moves his free hand to reach under Jared's nightshirt and stab two fingers into his still-wet cunt. He starts, straining against the hand holding his wrists in place, but Jensen just slams his hands back against the wall and carries on. He’s hating Jensen for every second of it, but it feels so good.

"And then what? Ah-!" Jensen's fingers inside him give a vicious jerk that almost makes his legs buckle.

"I'm going to lick you all over. Every last inch of skin inside and out. Taking you back for me Jay. Mine. My omega. Understand?" Jensen thrusts repeatedly with his fingers to make the point.

Jared can only nod. And wonder where this sex god has been hiding for the last 11 years.

"Go wait for me in our room. Don’t wash. I want you naked when I get back."

"Yes Jensen."

Jensen just looks at him, and Jared feels his last little bit of defiance melt away.

"Yes Alpha."

Tonight has certainly been full of surprises.


	6. Chapter 6

It turns out the night is definitely not out of curve balls as far as Jared's concerned.

He'd spent minutes that felt like hours deciding how to be ready for Jensen on his return. All his omega instincts are screaming at him that he should be waiting on all fours, head down, ass up. But he has his pride. Point the first, Jensen' s been fucking him with indifference bordering on incompetence for years. Roughly 10 seconds of an actual attempt at seduction doesn't even begin to atone for that. And point the second, he doesn't know how long Jensen will be and that position gets uncomfortable pretty quickly no matter how turned on you are.

In the end he settles for lying on his side, head pillowed on his arm, back to the door. His ass will be the first thing Jensen sees when he walks through the door.

And then Jensen has to go and ruin everything.

The first hint Jared has that some thing's not right is the door to their room creaking open. Then silence.

He'd been expecting a mad flurry of movement as Jensen strode across the room, tearing his clothes from his body to make good on everything he'd promised Jared earlier.

What he gets is silence. And then a strangled "Jay" in a voice that sort of sounds like Jensen, but also manages to sound like a terrified child.

Jared rolls over on the bed.

"Is it done? Jesus Jen, what's wrong? Did he wake up?"

Jensen shakes his head. "No fear of that Jay. You wore him out. Just like I told you to." He gives a bitter little laugh.

"Then what? Did anyone see you? Before it was over?" He can see the bloody knives in Jensen's hands so _ someone _ must be dead, but he's quickly realising that something is very, very wrong.

Jensen shakes his head, unable to speak, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

"Did you chicken out? Did you kill the wrong person?" Jared realises he's perilously close to shouting, but he's furious.

"No Jay, Morgan`s dead. No doubt about it."

"Then what in the nine hells is the matter? You're scaring me..."

Jensen fixes him with a devastated look that would break Jared's heart if it was in anything close to working condition.

"Who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him Jay?"

That's... That's it? His husband, Morgan's notorious butchering lieutenant, has taken fright over some blood. Satan give him strength, but Jared wants to scream at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

"You don't look any bloodier than before." Jared's not lying. That was the whole point of Jensen wearing his blood-spattered clothes. What would one more bloodstain be on top of so many others?

His husband is shaking now, and Jared gets up off the bed and goes to him. Jensen shies away from Jared's nakedness, but he grasps Jensen's wrists, bloody daggers and all.

"Tell me what happened." His voice doesn't falter, not even a little.

"He was lying on his back. I was standing by the side of the bed, looking down at him. He looked so peaceful Jay. He, he reminded me of my dad. I...stabbed him in the stomach, trying to get to the heart that way. But he jerked too much. I thought he would call for help..."

Jensen trails off, overcome.

"And then?"

"I panicked. I knelt on his shoulders and put my hand over his mouth. I slashed his neck and it... It went everywhere. He was coughing up blood over my hands. And I just kept stabbing and stabbing and then... Suddenly he went still."

Jensen looks down, voice wracked with guilt.

"He gave me everything Jay. And I killed him."

"And brought the murder weapons back with you to our bedroom. A fucking plus Ackles."

Jensen reels back as if he's been slapped.

"Give me those." Jared commands.

"Jay, you're naked." Jensen says feebly, as if that's somehow relevant to covering their tracks. But Jared sighs and pulls on his already ruined nightshirt. He'll burn the thing before the night is through.

"I am going," he says shortly "to finish what you started and frame the guards as we discussed. And when I get back, I want you undressed and scrubbed clean. A good hot shower will wash it all away, you'll see. Jensen? Did you get that?"

Jensen nods.

"Good. Now give me the knives."

The congealing blood on the handles is tacky against Jared's skin. He pads catlike from room.

~~~

Jared moves quickly, feeling like a bloody apparition in his own home. The servants are all asleep and he can hear the normal creaks and strains of the building settling down on its foundations after the heat of the day.

The guards are, reassuringly, still snoring, as he approaches the suite. But there's a sickly odour in the air as he approaches, warning him that he shouldn't linger long.

The blood on the daggers he is holding is too dry for any kind of smearing. He'll need to go right to the source. He really doesn't want to. But he can't back out now. Jensen's left a mess, as usual, and he has to clean it up.

The faint scent of blood in the corridor turns into a full-on cloud of death when Jared opens the doors to the suite and he shuts them quickly behind him, in case the stench itself is enough to rouse people from slumber.

He doesn't want to look at Morgan, but he forces himself to. Jensen did this, he did this.  _ They _ did this and he's not going to let the sight of one dead king rob him of all reason.

He remembers their last encounter. Morgan deserves that. Dark eyes alight with lust as he makes Jared come for the third time, skin glistening with sweat as their fucking takes its toll. Maybe he did make the wrong choice, maybe he should've stayed... But it's too late to be thinking like that. The shine would have worn off. It did with Jensen. Why would Alpha Morgan have been any different?

The king looks terrible, his eyes are wide in shock and pain. There's no fear in his face that Jared can see, just a slight disappointment, as if he recognised who had come to take his life and had thought better of them. Then Jared blinks, and the king's face is just an empty face on an empty body, a corpse with nobody home. He dips the daggers in the open wounds in the King's stomach, careful to step around any patches of blood on the carpet, then gets to work.

~~~

When he returns to Jensen, he's even more of a mess than before. Nowhere near as bloody as his husband when he walked through the door earlier, but Jared's hands and wrists are decorated with rustlike smears and he's still covered in the aftermath of fucking the king. He is sticky and dirty and not in a good way. But he feels somehow victorious.

Jensen's sitting on the edge of their bed in pyjama bottoms and nothing more, worrying at the drawstring with hands that have been scrubbed spotlessly clean, Jared's pleased to see.

He closes the door, strips his nightshirt off and throws it on the fire. "It's done," he says bluntly. "I'm taking a shower."

Later, when he's clean and dry and they're in bed together, Jensen's all tentative, snuffling affection. Gentle kisses peppered up the nape of his neck, little "I'm sorry"s and "thank you"s whispered in his ears. He's relieved Jensen doesn't try to claim "I love you" because he's not sure he could bear that from him right now.

And then,  _ then _ , when they've both calmed down and it feels like the imminent danger has passed, he feels the press of Jensen's cock against his buttocks. Because of course he does. Wearily, Jared rolls onto his stomach and submits to what is probably the most boring fuck of his married life. Even the particularly grey period after they lost Ryan has nothing on this.

But Jensen needs it, it seems. Maybe some shit about having taken a life he feels the overwhelming need to create one. It hasn't worked for the last decade, no reason to suspect it'll work now. It's a mystery. The best doctors they could get access to in the territory’s Upper Quadrant can't find anything wrong with either of them. But, of course, all the suggestions were that it's Jared's fault, because he's the omega and making babies is what he's for.

Jensen needs this, so he endures it. He's picked this horse to ride. He's going to damn well make it to the finish line. Or at least, cling on until it becomes prudent to jump.

He lets Jensen push his head down and drag his hips up, and tries not to remember lying on his back, legs locked around Morgan's waist, feeling the king's knot swell inside him, seeing a spark of wonder and affection in those dark brown eyes.

~~~

Jared sleeps the deep sleep of someone thoroughly well-fucked the night before. He’s so far under that he hears the pounding on the door as if it were part of a dream. He senses Jensen roll over beside him, hears his sleep-filled yawn. Sunlight’s pouring through a gap in the curtains, but no one was supposed to be up early this morning.

“Jensen! Wake up!” It’s Mark Pellegrino’s voice they can hear through the door.

“You have to wake up now, this is an emergency!” Jared feels Jensen jolt fully awake beside him, tense all over, and lays a steadying hand on his thigh.

“Remember what we talked about? You sent me to him and then passed out. You remember me kissing you when I came back to bed and we cuddled for a bit before drifting off to sleep.”

He drives the message home with a kiss, long and luxurious, his tongue searching out every inch of Jensen’s mouth, chasing away any doubts that he can do this.

Jensen pulls back, his eyes dopey with affection. “I remember Jay, I remember everything,” he says.

Taking their plan to the next stage, Jensen draws back the covers and pulls on some trousers. His skin catches the light, his freckles dappling in the sunshine as he moves around the room. It’s times like this, Jared remembers why he fell in love with him.

He’s not naked by the time he answers the door, but he’s not fully clothed either, a calculated display of a man just roused from his marital bed to be told news of an atrocity he never saw coming.

Jensen opens the door, “What seems to be the-?”

Jared’s immediately distracted by Mark’s face, the man’s crying but unaware of it and Jared’s never seen him so angry or upset. He can barely speak.

“The king! Alpha Morgan…”

“What? What’s happened? Has there been an attack?”

“No you fool, he’s dead!” Mark’s shout rings out around the room.

Mark’s breathing heavily in Jensen’s face, then draws back, horrified at the words and how he delivered them.

“I’m sorry Jensen, you didn’t know, and I… I have seen such a horrible sight this morning.”

Jensen pats him on the shoulder, conveying his understanding. “Show me.”

At this, Jared starts to get out of bed. “I’m coming too.”

Both Alphas stop and stare at him before speaking at the same time.

“Jared, no-“

“An omega shouldn’t have to-“

“I WAS THE LAST PERSON WHO SAW HIM ALIVE!”

He claps his hand over his mouth at that and starts to cry. They hadn’t exactly planned to reveal it like this and the tears fall freely, he’s not sure whether from shame or regret.

Mark drops his head, not sure which way to look. Yes, it’s the custom to send the omega consort of the house to the king as part of your hospitality, but no one ever really talks about it. Especially not in front of the omega’s actual partner.

Sensing his discomfort, Jensen takes charge. “Mark, you need to show me what happened. Jared, if there’s anything that seems out of place, we can take you in later to examine the room.”

Then Jensen’s sitting on the bed, winding a hand in Jared’s hair so he can pull him forward and gently kiss him on the cheek. They’re painting the very picture of a couple who love each other deeply, Jared thinks.

“Someone will need to tell the boys that their father is dead, unless…” 

Jensen breaks off to look at Mark, “Did you do that already?”

“No. I haven’t told anyone else. I came straight here.”

“Can you do that for us, Jared?”

He nods, letting out a shaky breath. He knows what to do.

~~~

Brock and Colin are sharing one of the mansion’s old twin rooms. The guards on the door come to attention as Jared approaches.

“Good morning. I need to speak to the princes in private. You’re wanted in the Great Hall.”

He doesn’t know these particular hunters by name, but they obviously know who he is, their deference as they incline their heads tells him as much, but they don’t immediately quit their posts. Just his luck to bump into two people who actually might have a clue what they’re supposed to be doing.

One guard starts to speak, “But the boys-“

“Will be quite safe with me, I’ll bring them along shortly. Everyone’s being summoned to the Great Hall for a clan meeting, I just need to tell Their Highnesses some details first.”

“We really should-“

Jared snorts in exasperation, “What are your names? Do you really want me to have to report you to the clan second? Look, I don’t know much more about what’s going on than you do, but I have important information that’s only to be delivered to the princes in person and orders to send everyone else ahead of us to the Great Hall. What else do you need to know, except my husband will have your hides if you disobey a direct order?”

It shouldn’t have worked, not really. But Jared knows the hunters are the ones most used to acting as a unit, most used to taking orders directly from Jensen, who is now even more senior to them than he was the day before. The intimidation works and the two men leave their post at a trot. Jared watches them round the doorway before entering the room.

Morgan’s two sons are still asleep, not yet knowing they’re orphans. He can see Brock’s tousled hair on his pillow, but Colin’s actually managed to shape himself into some sort of hump under the blankets and is not visible at all. Jared doesn’t relish this task, but it has to be done. He walks over to the window, yanking the curtains back and sliding the window open.

“Wake up! You have to wake up now!”

He walks to Brock’s bed and pulls back the top of the covers, getting a disgruntled moan in response. Colin’s more difficult, he’s got the blankets wrapped round all his limbs and drawn in tight against his body, but Jared manages to uncover his head and disentangle an arm and is rewarded by the boy’s eyes flickering open against the intrusive sunlight.

“J-j-jared?” Brock is stuttering his way through a yawn. “What’s going on?”

“There’s not much time, you have to get out of here.”

“Why? Did father say we were leaving?”

There’s no easy way to say this. “Your father is dead.”

“What?” This comes from Colin who is suddenly bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide and shiny with the onset of tears.

Jared looks at the two of them, both their gazes fixed on him, filled with shock and disbelief. It’s like looking into twins of the king’s dead face all over again, the expressions almost identical.

He shakes his head to dislodge the image and starts to move around the room, putting the boys’ possessions back in their packs.

“He was murdered last night. We think it was agents of the Lincoln clan, someone we thought was one of our own. You can’t stay, here it’s not safe.”

Brock’s already protesting, but swinging his feet off the mattress and onto the floor as he does so, “But can’t Jensen protect us? He was always loyal to father.”

“We don’t know who this was! It could have been anyone! Jensen can’t personally guard the two of you 24 hours a day. You need to get as far away from clan land as possible, it’s the only way to be safe.”

“But… but we killed all the Lincolns, didn’t we?” Colin’s voice is hesitant but, noticing that his older brother has thrown off the covers and is pulling on yesterday’s clothes, the younger boy is slowly getting out of bed and doing the same, Jared’s pleased to see.

“We did, but this must have been their back up plan, just in case they lost. They tried to get Beaver to kill you boys before the battle, and now they’ve targeted your father afterwards, just when we thought we would be safe.” Jared’s surprised by how much sense it makes as he says it. It’s what he would have done, if he were ever allowed oversight of anything like that.

Brock is fully dressed now and looking round the room for anything he and Jared might have missed in the rush to pack his and Colin’s few possessions. The younger boy is struggling into his jacket, eyes still crusty with sleep, tear tracks down his cheeks.

“Can we… can we see father before we go?”

The question stops Jared in his tracks. It’s the last thing he’d expected to hear. And for all that his life is shithole, these boys have done nothing to him. They don’t deserve to see the horror he helped create.

“No.”

“But-“

“I said no. There’s no time.”

“I’m going, you can’t stop me!”

Jared turns away from the window where he's been scouting a plausible route away from the building for them and grabs Colin’s wrists before he can run. He squats down and looks him straight in the eye. “I saw my father die, and I saw the body afterwards. There are some things you can’t unsee. Trust me when I say, this is not a memory you want to have.”

He stares deep into the boy’s eyes, willing him to understand. Of this whole charade, this grain of truth is suddenly the one he really needs to take root. He knows how it feels to be denied the chance to say goodbye, God, how he knows, his father’s life slipping away as his mother had sent him on one last desperate errand to find help. But he can’t let them see this.

Jared’s gripping Colin’s wrists, trying to press the importance of what he’s saying through his clenched fists, so he feels the way Colin goes limp when Brock places his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.

“Jared’s right Col, I saw mum. After… I wish I hadn’t. We should go.”

Colin doesn’t say anything but lets out a little sob and nods.

Jared fights the urge to embrace him. Colin’s not his son. He’s not Ryan. Jared doesn’t need to complicate this any further with his own problems.

“I know a way out that should be safe, but first, help me shred the sheets. We need to create a diversion in case anyone comes looking for you.”

The three of them tear the bed sheets into strips and knot them together into a long, rough-and-ready rope that reaches to the ground. They tie it to the foot of Brock’s bed, which is nearest the window, then push it up against the windowsill. Jared beckons them to the door, checking that the corridor is clear before they sneak out.

He lets them out of a fire escape on the opposite side of the building. Whether it’s fate or chance, he doesn’t know, but Jensen’s call for an emergency meeting seems to have hoovered up everyone and they make it out without being spotted.

Jared shakes Brock’s hand and gives Colin a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Be safe boys. Get as far away as you can. Send word to us when you’re safe, and Jensen will let you know as soon as we’ve found out who was responsible.”

“Thank you, Jared. Thank you for keeping us safe.” Brock pats his younger brother on the back and Colin gives a determined nod in response, and then they’re gone, heels throwing up little clouds of dust as they disappear among the ruins surrounding Jensen’s stronghold.


	7. Chapter 7

When Jared gets to the main hall, everything is barely controlled chaos. Jensen and Mark are facing off in front of the high table and Misha’s only just managing to keep them apart, his hands braced against both their chests.

“But why?”

“Because I had the nerve to do what you couldn’t! To take revenge for the murder of our king!”

“We have no proof it was them!”

“Tigerman and Lindberg were covered in blood, they still had the knives in their hands! His wounds match the blades!”

“And were they really so stupid as to just kill him and leave themselves covered in evidence?” Mark shouts back.

“Even if they didn’t kill him themselves, they failed him!” Jensen rejoins. “They failed in their duty and they let this happen. They deserved no less!

“But it means we can’t ask them what happened, if they saw anything…” Mark is disbelieving, almost leaning against Misha’s hand for support, rather than trying to reach his opponent. Jared gets the sense this confrontation has been going on for a while.

His husband almost seems to collapse at that point and for a split second, Jared is worried, but then Jensen pulls it back from the brink.

“I… I know. But you saw him. I… I just. I had to do  _ something _ . Our king, our king is  _ dead _ . And even if they didn’t strike the blow… I was so incensed, I, in that moment, I didn’t know what to think, but even if it wasn’t them, they  _ let it happen _ . How could I, loving him the way I did, not do something? How could anyone?” Jensen has drawn back from Misha while speaking, and the next second, Jensen and Mark are embracing, crying, and a lot of the tension is gone from the room.

When the two men pull apart, Jensen spots Jared and beckons him forward.

“The princes… Are they safe?”

This is a key moment, Jared needs to strike just the right tone of shock and disbelief.

“They’re… they’re gone.”

Perfect.

“What?” The shout comes from the crowd, someone in the clan behind them.

“It’s the Lincolns! Beaver had an accomplice!” Someone else.

“No, wait, it’s not like that!” Jared’s shouting to make himself heard above the din, but it’s not until Jensen bellows, “SILENCE” that something like quiet descends on the room.

“Their window was open. They’d made a rope from the bed covers. They’ve run away.”

There’s instant uproar. People shouting that it was abduction, that they murdered their own father and made a run for it, all sorts of nonsense. Jared finds Jensen’s green eyes in the middle of the confusion raging all around them. They’re the only two who know the truth, and there is something heady, electrifying, about that. He can feel the power of it, the strength that comes with knowing your hands are on the levers of history and it’s intoxicating. So much so that he thinks he might pass out from it.

The spell is broken, by the clanging sound of Misha banging his knife hilt on a serving platter until everyone shuts up. Jensen’s about to speak, but his best friend gets in first.

“Friends, clan, family.” Misha’s voice is clear, calming and cuts across the terror and uncertainty of the last few minutes. “We don’t know what happened here, but we are useless when we are leaderless. Clan lore states clearly what the procedure is in such troubled times. Jensen, are you ready?”

“I am.”

Jared can hardly breathe. He’d been ready to make the suggestion himself, but in the event, it turns out he didn’t even have to. Misha is such a good friend to Jensen. This is going even better than they’d dared to hope.

There is a hush around the hall, as one by one the clan members drop to their knees, acknowledging the accession of the clan second to the kingship. Jared waits until everyone else has bent the knee, before doing so himself. He wants to see this. He deserves to see this.

And just like that, Jensen’s king. If he hadn’t been the one to make it happen, Jared would never have believed it could be so easy.

~~~

They don’t get any time together until the evening. Jensen puts Misha in charge of investigating Morgan’s murder. It’s smart. They can keep a close eye on whether he gets anywhere near to the truth. Misha takes his time speaking to both Mark and Jared. He’s never considered being an omega an advantage, but from the questions Misha is asking, it’s clear he never even contemplates that Jared could have anything to do with the king’s death. He was sent to warm the king’s bed, he did his job, end of story. Seriously, if he’d known it could be this easy, he would have suggested this plan to Jensen  _ years _ ago.

He's uncertain what mood Jensen will be in when they finally do get a moment alone. It’s been a long day.

They’re getting undressed for bed when Jensen asks, “What did you tell the boys?”

“To run, run far away and let us know where they were when they were safe. I said you’d get in touch when we’d found who was responsible.”

Jensen’s suddenly right there next to him, sliding a hand up the back of his neck to tangle in Jared’s hair so he can draw him into a kiss.

“That was clever Jay. They’ll tell us where they are and then we can… arrange a little accident, far away from prying eyes.”

Jared almost laughs. “We don’t need to kill them Jen, they’re just children. We just need to find a scapegoat, execute him and take a real long time to tell them. Even if they come back, you’ll be secure in your position. Brock will just have to wait his turn.”

“This is about more than me Jay,” Jensen’s hands are travelling south as he says this, gripping Jared’s ass in both hands and pulling their bodies together. Jared can feel the swell of Jensen’s dick through the thin cotton of his sleep pants. “This is about our legacy. I want my son, our son, to inherit the throne.”

“Jensen-“ His husband really should know by now how Jared feels about this kind of talk.

“Shhh.”

Jensen shuts him up with a kiss. Jared closes his eyes and tries not to cry at the thought, not this again. Jensen moves his hands over Jared’s body, caresses and little pinches that do nothing to thaw the ice in his veins. But he’s committed to Jensen now, and all that commitment entails. He chose Jensen, not Morgan. So he moves where Jensen puts him, as his husband pulls back from the kiss and places his hands on Jared’s hips to turn him round, then pushes him forward onto their bed.

“We made one prophecy come true, Jay, at the time of our choosing, and now we’re going to prove them wrong.”

Jared feels saliva-slicked fingers pressing at his cunt as Jensen seeks entry. He’s not making any sense.

“Jen, what?”

“Those women I told you about. They said I would be king, but that Misha would father many kings.”

Jared shudders a little at the emptiness when Jensen withdraws his hand, he’s not getting wet himself, but Jensen’s eagerness to speed things up and get to the fucking has helped disguise that.

“They were just three vagrants in the street Jen, you don’t need to believe anything they said.”

“That’s not what you said before.”

Jensen’s between his legs now, cock teasing at the entrance of Jared’s cunt, but it’s an irrelevance. No matter how many times they’ve done this, he’s never getting pregnant again. No matter what Jensen thinks he knows.

“I told you what you needed to hear. To get us this far. And it worked. You’re king now.”

Jensen slips inside him and even though he’s expecting it, it’s still a shock. Jared lets out a pained groan, but he’s letting this happen, to keep Jensen talking and try to work out where this is all going, so he doesn’t say anything further.

“That’s your opinion Jay, but I see things differently.”

The thrusts start slowly, because Jensen obviously wants to keep his brain online.

“You see, I’ve been thinking a lot today…” Jared keeps his mouth shut at that, too obvious.

“Killing Beaver wasn’t something I decided to do. It was forced on me, it just happened, and I went along with it. But killing Morgan? That was my decision.”

Our decision.

“Maybe something would have happened to make it happen anyway, maybe not. But I  _ made it come true _ . So, I don’t have to be bound by events as they predicted. They think Misha is going to father generations of kings. I disagree.”

It’s pointless trying to talk any sense into his husband at this point, so Jared doesn’t bother.

“Now I’m in charge, now you have everything you deserve, I’m going to give you what you’ve always wanted.”

And Jared would like to believe it, he really would. But as Jensen grips him under his arms, pulling him up and back so that Jared’s head rests on Jensen’s shoulder, his body a perfect arc as Jensen comes inside him, he doesn’t feel any less empty.

~~~

It turns out there are perks to being married to the king. Moving to a bigger building with better facilities is one of them. Jared doesn’t know what the name of this estate was back in the day, but there are actual gardens around the house, even if they’ve mostly been dug over for planting crops. Beyond the old perimeter wall, the estate even has a woodland, though one that’s obviously outgrown its original boundaries in the years since the sickness. The building itself is even grander than the one they lived in before and it appears that originally it was a private residence rather than the upper-class hotel they had lived in before. Morgan had used a particularly beautiful room as his study, it’s all hardwood panelling and solid, heavy furniture that somehow escaped the looting and Jensen does the same. He sets someone on the door 24/7 and no one, not even Jared, is supposed to go in there without Jensen’s permission. It’s the first clue he gets that all is not well with his husband.

The second comes when they’re in bed together the first night that they move into the new estate.

Jensen has always been a heavy sleeper. Not anymore. After the fifth time his tossing and turning disturbs Jared, he kicks his husband awake.

“Jen, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing Jay, go back to sleep.”

“I haven’t been asleep to begin with. You won’t keep still!”

Jensen looks at him, his face a blurry mix of shadows in the half-light of early dawn. “Are you banishing me to the couch?”

Jared sits up, “It’s fine, I’ll go. I just want to sleep.”

He feels his wrist caught in Jensen’s grip as he goes to get out of the bed.

“Stay Jay. I’ll go.”

It’s a little better once Jensen’s no longer in his space, but he can still just about hear him from across the room. Turning restlessly, half-formed words escaping his lips.

Jared buries his head under a pillow and tries again.

~~~

He’d never thought it would be difficult to convince Jensen of the need for a coronation. From Jared’s perspective, this is Jensen finally fulfilling his destiny and they need to cement Jensen’s claim to the throne  _ and _ celebrate the fuck out if it. Furthermore, and unsurprisingly, the clan is still jittery after Morgan’s death. They need something to distract everyone from the doom and gloom.

But Jensen had been surprisingly reluctant. Jared had to remind him of all his big talk during the last time they had sex about how he was going to give Jared everything he wanted. He’d won through in the end, but it had been more of a fight than he’d anticipated.

The fact that Misha’s hasn’t reported anything from his investigation into the king’s death isn’t helping. So Jared’s taken it upon himself to see what he can find out about Misha’s progress. It’s only been a day or two, but that’s time enough for Jensen’s plan to find a fall guy to have been implemented. It seems Lindberg’s and Tigerman’s families aren’t that keen for their loved ones to go down in clan history as regicides…

Once he’s done persuading his husband to start planning the coronation in earnest, Jared leaves the new king’s office and goes in search of Misha. He has his own holding not far from theirs, but he and Jensen have been such fast friends for so long, he doesn’t really spend that much time there. Too many memories of Vicki, Jared supposes.

He finds Misha in a corridor between the stairs to their new basement where they’re keeping the few surviving scraps of the Lincoln clan they’ve managed to round up, and the kitchen. He’s obviously in search of food, but that can wait.

Jared walks up behind him and casually slips his arm through Misha’s. It’s a level of physical closeness that’s new for them, but Jared figures he needs to show a little vulnerability if he’s going to really sell this.

“Come for a walk with me?”

“I was just going to…”

“Please, Mish. I need to talk to… someone who isn’t Jensen. You’re the only one I can trust.”

“Oh. Okay.”

They end up in the garden of what is now his and Jensen’s estate, walking through rows of newly planted wheat. 

“What’s wrong Jared?”

He tilts his head down, lets his lip quiver as though he’s on the brink of tears. “It’s about… about Alpha Morgan. Please… don’t tell Jensen.”

Misha’s blue eyes are charmingly confused. “Tell Jensen what?”

“You already know I was… with him, before he died. But what I didn’t tell you then was that… was that I was starting to... to fall in love with him.”

He feels Misha’s whole body stiffen alongside him, and peeks discreetly through his eyelashes to catalogue any other reactions. The beta’s eyes are wide with alarm, and no little curiosity. And there’s a sudden flash of something else Jared can’t quite make out. But Misha’s expression changes so quickly, Jared thinks he must have imagined it.

“Jare… are you sure?”

He nods. “Jensen’s been distant. Ever since Ryan died. He blames me. Alpha Morgan was so kind. He asked me to be his consort… I almost... I almost said yes.”

Misha inhales sharply but says nothing.

Jared continues, “I know you’ve known Jensen a long time, you’re a good friend. But Ryan’s death changed him, Mish. I… I don’t think he loves me anymore.”

He hears Misha breathe out slowly. His arm around Jared’s has pulled them incredibly close together. He doesn’t think Misha has noticed. They keep walking in silence.

“Please, say something Mish. I know Jensen’s your friend, but after all this time, I feel like you’re my friend too.

Eventually Misha says, “If Morgan asked you to be his consort, why did you turn him down? Jensen couldn’t have stopped the king taking you, not if you’d agreed to it....”

“I know. But I was afraid. Things went so wrong with Jensen. What if the same thing happened again? I told him I’d think about it… but then,” He pauses, sobs, collects himself. “It was too late.”

“Oh Jared.”

“You  _ have  _ to tell me, anything,  _ anything _ you know about who did this.”

Misha stops deliberately, pulling away for a moment, before taking both of Jared’s hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly. “I will Jare, I promise.”

“And you won’t tell Jensen? About any of this?”

“I promise that too.”

Jared allows himself a little shuddery intake of breath. The emotional omega regaining his composure. That’s all it is. “Thank you. You’re a good man.”

Misha sighs heavily. “I do what I can.”

They stand like that for a few moments, holding hands, before Misha suddenly seems to realise what he’s doing and steps back with a rueful chuckle.

“I should… be going, people to interrogate. You know how it is.’’

Jared “smiles, “I do, thank you for listening to me.”

Misha gives him an affectionate nod as he leaves, “Thanks for trusting me.”

~~~

Jared knows it was a risk, telling Misha what the king said to him, as well as the little bit of embroidery he fashioned into the conversation about falling in love. It might make him suspicious. Which could lead to him telling Jensen. It’s no matter if Misha  _ does _ tell Jensen, however. He already knows the first bit, and Jared can explain the ruse of the second part if needs be. But as things stand, it functions as a nice little test of Misha’s loyalty towards Jared and how it compares with his friendship with Jensen.

A few days pass and Jared doesn’t have to contend with any sudden outbursts from his husband over his supposed infidelity, so he surmises that Misha has kept his mouth shut. Good.

He next sees Misha a week later. He’s been out with Jensen and a group of hunters on exercise so Jensen can inspect Misha’s new training regimen. Jared spots them coming up the drive to the front porch from his perch by the library window. He likes it up here, no one bothers him. He’s pretty sure Jensen doesn’t even know how to find this room.

Both men are flushed with exertion and coated with a fine sheen of sweat and laughing good-naturedly together. Looking at the two of them side by side, you wouldn’t necessarily spot that Misha was a beta, Jared thinks. He doesn’t defer to anyone just because they’re a gender above him in the social hierarchy. As Jared’s lost in contemplation, Misha looks up, happens to catch sight of him and gives a small wave. Jared smiles back in return, experiencing a little flutter of embarrassment at having been caught staring. But Misha doesn’t seem to notice. He beckons again, and Jared heads down to meet them.

~~~

It’s a bit difficult to engineer excuses to spend time with Misha in private. He can’t risk anyone overhearing them. And suddenly, with the coronation imminent, Jared finds his own time taken up with that almost as much as Jensen’s is. And there’s something wrong with Jensen. He’s still sleeping on the couch most nights, otherwise Jared doesn’t get  _ any _ sleep. And Jared’s not 100% certain, but he’s pretty sure he’s heard him crying at night. Quiet, bitten-back sobs that seem to last for hours.

It’s annoying. It’s dangerous. And it’s going to get them found out.

Jared’s not about to let all their previous efforts go to waste when they’re so close to cementing their position.

He and Jensen haven’t had sex since the night after Morgan’s murder, but he’s beginning to suspect he might have to initiate something,  _ anything _ just to make sure his husband is tired enough to properly lose consciousness at night. 

The next night, as they get ready for bed, he’s attentive and gentle, stroking Jensen’s arms as they move past each other, putting away clothes and shoes, pausing occasionally to rest his chin on Jensen’s shoulder, leaving the ghost of kiss on his husband’s neck.

When they’re both undressed, then redressed in night clothes, as Jensen moves towards the couch, Jared scrambles across to Jensen’s side of the bed and clutches at his fingers.

“Stay.” He manages to make it sound like a request.

“You sure? I’ll only ruin your beauty sleep.”

“I don’t need beauty sleep.”

Jensen gives him a weak laugh in response, but he stops walking towards the couch, “Well that’s true.”

Jared stares into his Alpha’s eyes. There’s fear there, and sadness. Jensen’s got everything he’s been preparing for his whole life, and he can’t even be happy. Goddamnit.

“What’s the matter Jen? Talk to me. I can’t fix it if you won’t talk to me.”

Not that talking has ever fixed the glaring hole in their marriage, but Jensen doesn’t know that.

“I don’t want to talk about it Jay.”

“So don’t talk.” Trying a different tack, he pulls gently on Jensen’s arm, willing him to give in, to sit down on the mattress, so Jared can lean in and kiss him.

For a minute, he thinks it’s not going to happen, and if Jensen’s given up on sex then that would be disastrous, because Jared really has nothing else he can use to draw him in.

He brings their interlaced fingers up to his face, kisses the back of Jensen’s hand with as much tenderness as he can muster.

And, thanks be to all that is holy, Jensen sits down. But he’s not looking at Jared.

This is going to take a while, but Jared’s determined. He always is.

Still holding Jensen’s hand, he sucks Jensen’s index finger into his mouth. His husband is still looking away from him, arm extended like he doesn’t want to acknowledge it’s a part of his body, but Jared still hears a gentle moan. Good. He can work with that.

Pulling the finger out of his mouth, he kisses the tip, then proceeds to kiss over Jensen’s palm, the inside of his wrist, working his way up Jensen’s arm, moving as he does so, so that he’s astride Jensen’s hips, pushing him gently backwards onto the bed. When his lips find Jensen’s, it takes a second or two, but eventually Jensen kisses back, slips his tongue into Jared’s mouth and starts to move underneath him, seeking just the slightest bit of friction through the fabric of his pyjama bottoms. That’s it. Good boy.

Jared pulls out of the kiss slowly, then starts to kiss Jensen’s neck, almost nuzzling him, before kissing the hollow of his throat, then slowly down the centre of his chest, starting to undress his husband at the same time.

He takes Jensen in his mouth slowly to begin with, but it’s not long before he’s upping the pace. He doesn’t really want to get fucked tonight and the sooner he can get Jensen to come, the sooner they can both get to sleep. Jared’s usually fine, but even with banishing him to the couch, Jensen’s disturbed nights are definitely having a knock-on effect. This can’t go on.

Jared takes Jensen down to the root while he still can, his knot’s only the slightest suggestion of a bulge at this point and even though it almost makes Jared gag, Jensen’s not a particularly active participant in this blowjob so he’s not too uncomfortable. Sucking hard, he makes a tight seal with his lips and slides up and down Jensen’s shaft, using his hands to follow his mouth and keep the pressure constant.

Jensen’s fingers are scratching spasmodically in Jared’s hair, so at least he knows his husband’s still interested and after less than a minute, his knot is starting to swell and Jared can take things a little easier.

Massaging Jensen’s knot with his hands and keeping up the pressure on his shaft with his mouth, Jared reckons it takes about five minutes to make Jensen come. He manages to pull off in time to avoid a faceful and then does what he can to get Jensen through it as quickly as possible. He doesn’t tend to come for as long when they’re not tied together, but it’s still a good ten minutes before Jared can’t squeeze anymore out of him. By this time, he’s a sticky mess, but Jensen certainly seems to have enjoyed himself. He’s lying boneless on their mattress and all Jared’s heard from him have been aroused groans and the occasional “God Jay, your mouth.”

Jared’s knees are numb by the time he stands up to go and rinse off. In the time it takes him to clean himself up and come back with a cloth for Jensen, his husband’s already asleep. Jared wipes him down carefully so as not to wake him. Then, because Jensen’s fallen asleep crosswise to the mattress and their usual sleeping arrangements, he very carefully moves the pillows and covers before lying down next to him.

It’s the best night’s sleep either of them has had in a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

The next time Jared is due to see Misha is at the council of the clan elders. So he’s pleasantly surprised when Misha makes a point of seeking him out the morning before the meeting is due to take place.

Jared’s overseeing further gardening work in the grounds of their new estate when, this time, Misha comes up to him and takes _ him  _ by the arm. He takes it as a sign Misha feels comfortable being more open with him.

It’s a sunny day, but breezy, the wind chasing clouds across the bright blue sky in quick succession. It feels like the perfect day for some good news.

So it’s an unwelcome development when Misha says, “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news Jare.”

“What happened?”

“It’s the prisoners, from Clan Lincoln. I don’t think anyone from the Clan was behind Morgan’s murder.”

“What? But that’s impossible! Who else could have-?”

“I know Jare. I thought the same way too. But my interrogations have been… thorough. Nobody is telling me anything that makes sense. Even under the greatest pressures. I’ve been feeding them little false titbits. And they’re telling me what they think I want to hear. They’re all lying. Not a one of them knows how he really died.”

Goddamnit. Jensen was supposed to have taken care of this. Jared had got rid of the sons, finding a fall guy was Jensen’s job. Something’s gone awry somewhere. They need to get ahead of this, or things are going to get wildly out of control.

“So what does that mean?”

Misha’s brow furrows. His troubled expression looks out of place on such a bright sunny day.

“It means that either we have a new enemy, that we were previously unaware of. This seems unlikely. Or… it was one of our own.”

Jared doesn’t have to work too hard on the gasp of shock that escapes him. “I can’t believe that of anyone in the clan. We all loved…” he lets his voice break a little before carrying on, “him.”

“I know. Or at least, we thought everyone loved him.”

Jared stares at the ground. The next meeting of the elders is during the coming afternoon. He needs to talk to Jensen immediately, but he can’t just rush off.

“Thanks for telling me this in private Mish. It… means a lot.”

The shorter man squeezes his hand gently. “It’s ok Jare. I wanted to give you some time to process it, before you have to hear in front of the elders. I promise I haven’t told a soul what you told me before.” Misha’s so earnest. It’s endearing.

“And I appreciate that. So much, but…”

And then it dawns on him. A way out of this conversation.

“Mish, I, I need to go. I’ll see you later, I just need to… be myself for a while.”

“Of course Jared, I’ll see you at the meeting this afternoon.”

Jared flashes him a grateful smile, before heading indoors to find Jensen.

~~~

He finds him in his new office, approving seating arrangements for the coronation.

“I need to talk to you Jen. In private.”

“Now is not the best time sweetheart.” Jensen doesn’t look directly at him, but indicates with his hands the servants scattered around the room.

Jared inhales sharply, then leans forward over Jensen’s desk, spreading his hands out over the seating plans scattered over the hardwood.

“This. Is. Important.”

Jensen sighs, then dismisses the servants with a brief wave of his hand. “Everybody out.”

Once the door is closed behind the last maid to leave the room, Jared turns back to his husband, who looks decidedly annoyed at being interrupted.

“We have a problem.” Jared’s not messing about.

“Do tell me. What’s more important than this coronation you insisted we have?”

Jared doesn’t try to hide his eyeroll. The news he’s trying to impart will make his point better than any backtalk would.

“Misha just told me none of the Lincolns confessed to murdering the king.”

“What? But I sent the messages! Confess and the rest of the prisoners will be spared. They could rebuild the clan! Tigerman’s cousin approached a select few when Misha wasn’t around, to really drive the message home. I told her I knew I’d rushed to judgment, but that we could take the heat off their families by getting one of the prisoners to confess. It was perfect!”

“Too bad it didn’t work! And now we have two hours to work out what to do.”

Jensen looks at him carefully. “What else did Misha say?”

“He did say it could be someone outside the clan. But he doesn’t seem very convinced of that.”

“Outside the clan eh? You’re right, it doesn’t make much sense. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Brock and Colin are  _ outside the clan _ .”

Jared shakes his head. “It’ll never work Jen. Pellegrino didn’t buy it the first time you suggested it, you know that. And he won’t be the only one who disagrees this time around.”

Jensen stands suddenly so that they’re eye to eye across the desk.

“Well do you have a better idea?”

Jared shakes his head. “They might believe the idea of a new enemy outside the clan. But blaming the princes isn’t going to work, Jen please, you have to-”

He’s cut short by Jensen placing a finger over his lips.

“Stop talking Jay. You’ve done a good job by letting me know and buying me time to work something out. But trust me. I’ve got this under control. Now you really need to let me get on with planning this coronation you’re so keen on.” Jensen gestures to the mass of papers on his desk.

Jared knows a dismissal when he hears one. He briefly contemplates an attempt at seduction, but they really do only have a couple of hours and he needs Jensen to be alert at this meeting, not drunk on orgasms.

So he leaves, but with a gnawing sense of dread in his stomach, wishing he knew what his husband had in mind.

~~~

Jared’s only allowed to attend the meeting by virtue of his position as clan consort and he’s not expected to speak, unless asked directly to participate. Traditionally, he’s supposed to be there to help Jensen. Observe what he can’t, back him up if necessary. No other omegas are present. A beta wouldn’t normally be there either, but as head of the clan’s hunters, Misha has automatic right of attendance. Not to mention that they’re expecting some rather vital news from him today.

Looking round the table, waiting for the elders to arrive and take their seats, Jared tries to predict how each of them will react. He’s completely certain Pellegrino will cause trouble for them today. He’s a loyal member of the clan, but he was loyal to Morgan. There’s no bad blood between the two of them, but he and Jensen have never been particularly close. Worse still, he’s honest, to a fault. If he publicly questions Jensen’s decisions or his version of events, a lot of the clan might be persuaded by those arguments.

Speight and Sheppard are harder to predict. They’ll both be looking for an angle, any way they can work things to their advantage. Ultimately, they’re both businessmen, Speight with his matchmaking, Sheppard with his trading links to other clans. They’ll both pick whichever path least rocks the boat. And right now, that’s keeping Jensen on the throne. If only he and Jensen can keep the lid on Misha’s news. As for the rest, Huffman, Helfer, Brown and Richings, Jared doesn’t know them well enough to say which way they’d jump if pushed. Interesting times.

It takes about five minutes for all the elders to arrive. Pellegrino is last, and by the time he shows, there’s only one seat left, at the far end of the long table, directly opposite Jensen.

Once everyone’s seated, Jensen clears his throat to begin.

“Elders and friends. This is our first meeting since our beloved king was murdered. As the loss is still so near and still so very painful for all of us, I want to begin this gathering a minute’s silence while we remember Alpha Morgan.”

A murmur of agreement runs round the room and Jared sees all the alphas bow their heads or close their eyes.

He shuts his own eyes and remembers the last time he saw the king. Remembers him smiling, half-lascivious, half-tender, fucking into Jared and telling him to jerk himself off. Remembers how good it felt. How he gave away the chance for more of that… It doesn’t take much for him to shed a few tears, but it’s not only the king he’s crying for.

Jensen signals the start of the meeting by sitting up straight and pulling his chair closer to the table. The sounds jerk everyone out of their introspections. Once he’s sure he has their full attention, Jensen turns to Misha, who’s sitting on his left.

“You’ve been investigating this terrible crime. What have you found?”

Misha inclines his head, then stands to address the meeting.

“Elders, I have some serious news. After careful and thorough investigations of the surviving members of Clan Lincoln, I am convinced that none of them, or anyone connected to them, was responsible for the murder of our king.”

There is a collective drawing in of disbelieving breaths. Jared tries not to imagine it’s as though they’ve taken all the oxygen from the room, then internally berates himself for being overly dramatic.

It’s Sheppard who asks the obvious question. “Then who is?”

Misha shakes his head. “If only I knew. In my opinion, that leaves only two alternatives…

“Wait a second.” The interruption comes from Huffman. “How can you be so sure none of the Lincoln shits planned this?”

Misha addresses her directly when he answers, but they’re all hanging on his every word. “The prisoners were given ample… incentive to confess. None of them did, a few of them tried, but… I dropped a few misleading hints about how the king died. None of them knew these ‘facts’ were untrue. When I asked them how they killed him, to describe it in detail, none of them tried to correct me. They just told me what they thought I wanted to hear. They said anything they thought would make it stop.”

People forget, Jared thinks. Jensen has long had a reputation as the blood-soaked head of Clan Morgan’s hunters. But they forget that this butcher has always had a sidekick. An unassuming beta mourning his Alpha wife, and always ready to wreak bloody vengeance on the world that took her away. Sometimes he thinks Misha is the more dangerous one of the two, because people underestimate betas almost as much as they underestimate omegas. But then, few Alphas are ever in the position to have that insight.

“And you never offered them mercy, as an ‘incentive’?” Huffman savours the word like a tender piece of meat and Jared’s suddenly sure she wishes she could have taken part in the interrogations.

“They were all offered the chance,” Misha says levelly. “Confess, and the rest of your clan lives. As it is, now they will  _ all _ be executed. Do you really think, given the chance to save the scraps of their clan, they wouldn’t have taken it?”

Jared’s been turning this over in his head. Jensen knew the details of the king’s death and would have passed them on to Tigerman’s cousin for her to make the offer. She must have screwed up somehow… or she’s now another loose thread in this cat’s cradle they’ve created …or Jensen screwed up and didn’t give her enough useful information. At this point, he’s honestly not sure which scenario is more likely.

As Jared brings his attention back to the meeting, Huffman is shrugging, saying, “Maybe they have more honour than we gave them credit for.” But she seems satisfied for now though, and before she can say anything else, Speight is asking, “So what are your other theories?”

“It seems to me that there are two plausible scenarios. One, we have a new enemy, who took advantage while our defences were down after a great victory. Just when we thought we would be safe. Or two…” Misha pauses to emphasise the significance of what he’s about to say, “It was someone from within the clan.”

Uproar.

Everyone’s shouting at once and Jared can’t keep track of who’s saying what, but the general feeling is clear. If true, it’s an outrage, the betrayer must be hunted down and torn limb from limb, and none of them can rest until this is done.

Watching them all rant and roar, Jared wonders which performances of outrage are the most genuine.

Jensen raises his hand for silence. The voices die away, but not completely, there’s still a background murmur.

Then Jared hears Elder Richings speak up above the muttering, “Of course, there’s also a third option.”

Misha and Jensen both turn their heads sharply in the old man’s direction, apparently surprised by the interjection.

But Jared knows Jensen better than he knows the back of his own hand. His husband was expecting this.

Everyone’s fallen into a deferential silence. Richings’ age garners him a certain amount of respect as a default. The fact that he’s still in charge of his family, despite his age, despite being physically weaker than everyone else in the room speaks volumes.

“The princes ran away. They have not returned. We have heard no word of them since they disappeared. This… is not the action of young men entirely blameless in this affair.”

It’s chaos again as soon as the older man has finished speaking. But Jared is looking at Jensen. He’s calling for calm, raising his voice to bellow above the din, but there’s a lightness in his eyes. Jensen’s not worried, everything is going according to some plan. And Jared wonders how he managed to persuade Richings to put forward this theory so that they didn’t have to. And why he didn’t tell Jared what he was planning to do…

Jensen’s voice booms out over the din. “Quiet! Everyone will have their say. I will hear from each of you individually. Starting with Elder Richings.”

The old man acknowledges Jensen with a nod of his head before speaking again. “I do not say this lightly. I do not say that it is true. I merely think it wise that we do not exclude  _ any _ possibilities when trying to establish who killed our king. If the boys have nothing to hide, they certainly have nothing to fear by returning.”

“Except their possible deaths at the hand of whoever murdered their father!”

That’s Pellegrino. Of course it is. Jared sees Jensen frown, but he says, “Do you have anything else to add?”

“Only that I can’t believe we are even discussing this nonsense as a possibility. Why else would they run but fear?”

Jensen narrows his eyes, “Who knows why potential patricides do anything? The fact remains that they are not here, so they cannot be discounted in the investigation. Moving on…”

There’s a range of opinions across the council. They’re pretty much split three ways between believing the clan has a new enemy, that someone inside their own ranks is to blame, or that Brock and Colin must have had something to do with it. It’s chaos, but no one’s pointing the finger at Jensen. This is going better than Jared had feared. Until it’s Misha’s turn to speak.

“Friends, elders of the council,” he begins. “We find ourselves in strange and troubling times, with no easy answers. I regret that my investigations have led to this point. But what facts we have speak for themselves. The Lincolns did not kill our king. And we still have to find out who did. To that end, I have a proposal. I shall leave tonight to find the princes. I shall bring them back and then we shall be one step closer to finding the answers we seek.”

Well fuck. Jared knows they’ve heard nothing from Brock and Colin since they left, but he has no idea how far they could have travelled from clan lands since he ‘helped’ them make their escape. Misha’s dedication can’t be doubted. Him seeking them out is a problem that needs a solution, and the need for it starts coursing through Jared’s veins like electricity.

Misha turns to Jensen. Jared holds his breath. This isn’t something Jensen can be seen to publicly refuse.

Jensen addresses the council, “Does anyone oppose this plan?”

No hands go up.

“All in favour.”

It’s unanimous.

Jared has to suppress the desire to laugh to break the tension inside him.

“Very well,” Jensen says. “The decision has been made. Misha will search for Brock and Colin. But until they are found and brought back to us, you are all sworn to secrecy regarding the investigation. These matters are too important to become the subject of idle clan gossip. Swear to your king.”

The elders all raise their hands and say in chorus, “We swear.”

~~~

After the meeting, Jensen and Jared are left alone with Misha in the meeting chamber. The need to speak to Jensen in private, to plan what they’re going to do in response to Misha’s bombshell of a suggestion, is making Jared antsy. He forces himself to keep still because he can’t risk letting Misha know that there’s anything amiss. 

Jensen is the first to speak. “That was a good plan Mish. I just wish we’d had time to discuss it first.”

Misha nods slowly. “That would’ve been…preferable. But it came to me on the spur of the moment.”

“So often the case with the best ideas.” Jensen’s skirting around what he really wants to say, Jared can tell by the way he’s clasping his hands together to keep from fidgeting. He wonders if Misha knows that tell too. After all, he and Jensen have been friends for a long time.

“Something’s bothering you?” Misha asks gently.

Jensen exhales. Then looks at Misha directly.

“My…  _ the _ coronation is tomorrow. Could you wait until afterwards?”

_ Uh oh _ . Jared thinks. From the look on Misha’s face, that’s the very last thing he expected Jensen to say.

When Misha finally speaks, he sounds like he’s reading from a prepared speech, trying to explain to a simpleton the ridiculousness of what they’re suggesting.

“Jen, this is the future of the clan we’re talking about…”

“So is the coronation! I’m helping to keep things stable. You’re our commander, you should be there.” 

“I need to find those boys! They’re the key to finding out what happened to our king!”

“They’ve been gone days already, one day more won’t make a difference!”

“That’s  _ not _ the point and you know it.”

“I need you  _ here! _ ” Jensen’s almost screaming in Misha’s face as he says it, and Jared realises he’s risen to feet, ready to interpose himself between his husband and his best friend. But it doesn’t come to that. Jensen steps back, breathing in and out to calm himself down.

“I’m sorry…” Jensen is visibly doing his best to relax. “I just… You’ve been there for everything Mish. Throughout my whole life. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Misha is looking at Jensen, all quiet understanding.

“That’s very flattering Jen. But you know I can’t stay. Not for this, not even for you.”

“What if I ordered it? You’d refuse your king?” Jared can tell Jensen’s trying to make a joke of it, but his voice is strained.

Misha turns to fix the full force of his blue eyes on Jensen, and Jared’s intensely glad he’s not on the receiving end of that stare.

“In this? I’m afraid I’d have to,” he says, gently.

Jensen sighs, and then dismisses him with a wave of his hand. “Go then. Go on.”

Misha bows stiffly, then turns to leave. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The door swings shut behind him leaving Jensen and Jared alone in the meeting room. As soon as Misha has gone, Jensen’s shoulders slump.

He looks at Jared, his eyes sunk deep in twin grey hollows in his face.

“Do we know where the boys are?”

Jared shakes his head. “We’ve had no word.”

“Well that’s something. But we need to track them down ourselves, Richings can help with that. But first…” Jensen’s eyes are bright, his tone brittle, and Jared’s worried.

“First what? First what Jen?”

“We need to stop Misha from finding them.”

“He’s hardly going to find them in the course of one day. It won’t stop your coronation.”

“You don’t know that!” Jensen’s snapping again, and Jared’s growing tired of the mood swings.

“Fine. I’ll go to him, see if I can persuade him.”

Jensen looks up at him sharply. “Why would he listen to you over me?”

Jared shrugs. “Maybe because I won’t be yelling in his face? Anyway, it can’t hurt to try.”

“You’re right. There’s nothing wrong with having a back-up plan. Go and find him Jay. Let me know what he says.”

Jared nods, then leaves. Off to do his best to try to cover up for Jensen’s failings. Again.


	9. Chapter 9

Jared finds Misha in the stables, his horse is with Jensen’s animals, and there’s also a young gelding that Jared recognises as belonging to Misha’s daughter, Katherine.

He knows he has to be careful what he says here. Misha’s already looking for suspects close to home, it wouldn’t do for anything Jared says in the next few minutes to turn those suspicions towards either him or Jensen. Misha beckons him over with a small wave, and within a few minutes it’s clear that any worries Jared had about hinting at Jensen’s involvement are very much a case of barring the stable door after the horse has bolted.

“Do you really need to leave today? Wouldn’t it be better to be well-rested and leave tomorrow morning? You don’t have to stay for the coronation. It would just be-”

“I have to leave as soon as possible, Jay.” Misha’s face is grim as he interrupts him.

“Why? What makes it so urgent?”

Those shockingly blue eyes are full of pain and anger as Misha turns to him.

“I… I want to be able to trust you Jared, I do. And I know in recent times you’ve said you consider me a friend… but, this is hard…”

“You  _ can _ trust me. You kept my secret about… about Alpha Morgan and I swear, I’ll do the same for you. No matter what.”

Misha grasps both of Jared’s hands in his. For all that Jared is several inches taller, he still feels like Misha is looking  _ down _ on him, albeit with a fond expression.

“Jensen’s been my best friend for such a long time… it really hurts that I can no longer trust him.”

Jared makes as if to pull his hands away, as if this news is a shock to him, and feels Misha’s grip tighten in response.

“Mish… what are you saying?”

“That it’s becoming clear to me… That Jensen is the person with the most motive… and the opportunity to kill our king.”

“But… he loved the king. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t...” Jared’s putting all he can into this performance, but he can tell it’s already too late. 

“You can’t know that Jay,” Misha is looking sadly at him. “I know it’s hard for you to hear, but you already told me yourself, you came back to your bedroom and passed right out. If Jensen had left to visit the king’s chambers after you returned, you’d never have known.”

Jared inhales sharply. He’s safe. But if Misha’s starting to put together the pieces like this, other people might be close to making the same deductions. And who knows how Jensen would react if confronted...

“What makes you sure? He’s my husband Mish, I can’t… I don’t want to think him capable of something like this!” With discovery now a very real threat, it’s not too much of a reach to get a couple of tears to fall.

Misha’s expression softens. “I’m not sure… and he’s my friend, my  _ best _ friend, I don’t like thinking this way about him either, but after the meeting with the Elders… when he begged me to stay until he’s crowned. There’s something not right there. If he cared more about the clan than about securing his position, it wouldn’t matter to him whether I’m there or not. Trying to find the princes should be the priority, regardless of any implications it might have for Jensen as successor.”

Goddamnit Jensen. Misha’s not wrong.

“So what will you do?”

“Get moving as fast as I can. And take Katherine with me. I want her to be safe. She’s all I have left of my family, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving her here.”

Jared  _ has _ to scoff at that, “You can’t possibly think Jensen would ever hurt her?”

Misha shakes his head fretfully, “I wish I could be sure. But… Did he, did he tell you Jay? About those women we met? After the battle?”

He’s not sure how much to reveal, so Jared decides to keep it vague, “He was talking some nonsense, about a prophecy, that he’d be Head of Morgan’s hunters, even though he already was, it made no sense-“

“They said he’d be King, Jay! Clan Second and then King. And both those things happened!”

“What’s that have to do with Katherine?” He has to ask, for the look of it, though he thinks he knows.

“They said… they said I’d be father to a line of kings. And if I’m right about Jensen… Katherine is my only daughter, the only way I could be head of a line of anybody. And I’m afraid she’s not safe.”

It’s clear as crystal to Jared that he absolutely can’t try to change Misha’s mind now. Anything he  _ does  _ say in that direction will only cause suspicion to fall on him. And could even make Misha’s perception of Jensen  _ worse. _

“When will you leave?”

“This evening. I’m not sure I can look him in the face now, not with what… what I suspect.”

Jared needs to keep the two of them apart. Jensen can’t be relied on not to do or say something impetuous if Misha reveals his true feelings.

“I’ll keep him distracted,” he promises.  _ And then we’ll make a plan _ , he tells himself. They need to be prepared for what might happen if Misha finds the princes. Unless Richings finds them first… And he needs to find out from Jensen when the hell he was brought into their little conspiracy. The more people know what’s going on, the riskier these things get. All of a sudden, the amount of things Jared has to manage hits him.

He pulls himself back to the conversation right in front of him, drawing Misha to him in a tight embrace. Misha’s arms clasp around his back with equal force, an intensity Jared wasn’t expecting, but he finds it strangely comforting. 

“Stay in touch,” he whispers. “Let me know what you find. If Jensen is as dangerous as you say, if he killed Alpha Morgan…” He pulls back for a second, so Misha can see his lip quivering, “I  _ need  _ to know.” He tells himself he needs to keep this channel of information open.

“I promise.” 

As their eyes meet again, there’s a strange expression on Misha’s face that Jared doesn’t think he’s seen before.

“Take care of yourself, Jared.” It’s a command, not a question. “I wish I wasn’t leaving you alone in this… I-”

Jared cuts him off. “I’ll be fine. You need to do what’s best for your family, not me. If you’re worried about Katherine’s safety, you need to go.”

At first, it looks like Misha might argue with him, but a few moments later, with a clatter of hooves, he’s gone.

~~~

Dinner is ready early, so they eat early. They’re alone, in one of the small anterooms off their bedroom.

Jensen’s not saying much. He seems tense and Jared’s not sure how best to bring up his earlier conversation with Misha. But he doesn’t have to wait long after they’ve finished eating for Jensen to mention it himself.

“You couldn’t stop him.” It’s barely a question.

Jared shakes his head. “I tried. But he was adamant. And so upright, you know? I didn’t want to risk making him suspicious.” He’s not sure how to tell Jensen his best friend thinks he might be a murderer. He imagines he’d react badly. And Misha could still be valuable in all this if they play their cards right. He doesn’t need Jensen doing anything rash.

“I reckon we’ll be fine for tomorrow. He’s unlikely to find them in the course of a day. But we’ll need a plan, for when he comes back, if he finds Brock and Colin.”

“And what do you suggest Jay?”

He’s had time to think about it. He’d wanted to avoid it coming to this, but if Morgan’s sons are found, he can’t see a way out of it.

“Well, we can’t just kill them right away. It would be too obvious. We need to be smart about it. Bide our time. You could offer yourself as an advisor to Brock, step aside gracefully, maintain our position, then strike later, indirectly. When we’ve had time to come up with a plan that doesn’t place you under suspicion.” He pauses, “Or you could challenge him to single combat for the kingship. You took over in good faith. At the very least, he abandoned his responsibilities. At worst, he murdered his father and ran away. He’s untested in a real fight. We know you could beat him easily. We’d just need to gauge whether you have enough support in the clan for that to work. We need everyone united behind you as leader.”

Jensen’s eyeing him intently. “Those both sound like incredibly risky options, Jay.”

Jared shrugs, “Murder is always risky, however you do it. Single combat might be the best course of action, enough of the elders seemed susceptible at the meeting that we could probably convince enough of the clan that Brock killed his own father.”

“What about when he and Colin say you told them to run?”

Jared shrugs. “We lie. I’ll say I went to fetch them, and they were already gone. That’s what I said the morning after, people will be already primed to believe it.”

He stares at Jensen, but his husband’s face is not giving anything away.

So he decides to flat out ask him. “You need to tell me how Richings is involved in all of this. We’re in this together, we have to be. What does he know and why didn’t you tell me about it before?”

Jensen waves at him impatiently. “He doesn’t know details. He came to me before the council meeting. We had a little talk about some  _ ideas _ he had about how the king might’ve died.”

It’s blackmail, pure and simple. Jared opens his mouth, shocked, about to protest about how dangerous this is, but Jensen just keeps talking over him.

“It’s fine, Jay, he doesn’t  _ know  _ anything, he can’t prove anything. But he could make our lives difficult. I’ve just made him see why he’s better off with us than against us. He’s already out with some of his people looking for Brock and Colin.”

He has to ask, even though he already has a pretty good idea what the answer is, “And what happens if he doesn’t find them, what if Misha finds them first? What if-“

As Jared’s talking, Jensen rises from his seat and walks around the table to where he’s sitting, bolt upright and animated in his chair as he outlines all the potential pitfalls. His husband grabs his hands out of the air and pulls him up from his seat so they’re facing each other.

“Jay, you don’t need to worry, it’s all part of the plan.”

Which reminds Jared, he had a plan. Keep Jensen distracted.

Jensen’s pulling Jared to his feet, running his hands in soothing motions across Jared’s shoulders and down the length of his arms.

“The boys will trust him, he’ll tell them we know who killed their father. They’ll go with him. He’ll take care of them.”

Jared knows what he means by that, but he still has questions, however with Jensen apparently keen to play into his hands, now doesn’t seem the best time to ask them.

His husband’s hands have moved from Jared’s arms to encircle his waist, pulling the two of them close together, starting up a slow grind. Jensen’s already hard. Jared isn’t, but he knows a good way to cover up for that. Taking Jensen’s head in his hands, he teases him with a kiss, before turning in the circle of his husband’s arms and taking a step towards their bedroom. Jensen moves to come with him, hands now on Jared’s hips and encouraging him forward.

Once they’re in the bedroom, Jared kisses Jensen again, backing him against the solid wooden bulk of their bedframe, unbuttoning Jensen’s shirt as he does so. Once he has Jensen half-naked, Jared breaks off the kiss so he can whisper huskily, “Don’t go anywhere, just want to freshen up for you.”

Walking quickly across the room to the en-suite, he then discards his clothes in the bathroom. Searching quickly for his hidden supplies, he preps himself quickly, the lubrication a cold shock inside him as he depresses the plunger. Then he takes his dick in hand and gives himself a few quick strokes so he can at least feign interest. When he’s ready, he walks back out of the bathroom, Jensen’s more or less where he left him, but fully naked now, stroking himself in a leisurely fashion.

His eyes brighten when he locks gazes with Jared. “There you are.”

This is supposed to be a distraction, so Jared decides to be distracting. Never breaking eye contact, he sinks to his knees and starts to crawl towards him across the carpet, back arched, eyes up, hips swaying as he moves. Jensen gives a groan, like he’s been punched in the gut.

It doesn’t take much more than a minute to cross the floor, moving like this, but Jared makes every second count, seducing Jensen every bit of the way. When he reaches the spot on the rug between his husband’s feet, Jensen’s dick is already leaking at the thought of what’s to come next.

He’s barely had his lips around Jensen’s cock for a minute, feeling it fatten on his tongue, before Jensen’s hands catch in his hair and pull him gently off.

“Jared that’s enough, I’m ready.”

Well, that could have been worse. Jared gets up off the floor and re-arranges himself on hands and knees in the middle of the bed. He loaded a syringe full of slick up his cunt in the bathroom, he needs to make this good and make it last.

He’s almost jolted out of his skin by a gentle tap from Jensen on the small of his back.

“Not like that, Jay.”

“Wait, what?” Jared’s so surprised, he apparently temporarily loses the power of speech.

“I want you to ride me. I want to see you.”

Jared tries to think if they’ve ever done this before. If they have, he has no memory of it. He’s suddenly terrified. Jensen will know, will be able to see into his eyes and know that Jared doesn’t love him anymore. All those times he could hide his face, his indifference, his hatred. All those times they fucked, and he never had to risk showing Jensen how he really felt.

He has to stop this. But Jensen’s already pulling him upright into a kneeling position, moving around in front to kiss him again, whispering, “kneel up Jay, spread those legs for me,” and in a daze Jared realises he’s doing these things because it’s so unexpected, he doesn’t know what else to do, doesn’t have a way out of this and Jensen…

Jensen is looking right at him as Jared’s trembling thighs lower him slowly down onto Jensen’s dick. And he realises he  _ wants _ this. Has wanted it for so long.

It hurts a bit, but it hurts just right. Jared’s slick with oil and he slides right on down, feeling Jensen deeper inside him than he has in years. It’s glorious, destructive and soul-shattering.

There’s no talk of breeding, no talk of babies. Just their hot, sharp breaths as Jared drops his hips down again and again, and Jensen surges up to meet him. As if finally,  _ finally _ , Jensen’s realised that it’s just the two of them. That  _ they _ have to make this work because they’re all they have left. Bound together in loss and now in blood. By everything that they’ve done to get to this point.

That’s what Jensen  _ could _ be saying, Jared thinks, as he works himself up and down Jensen’s dick, searching desperately in his husband’s eyes for some clue, some signal, anything, and realises he was wrong to be worried about showing his own feelings. That’s not the problem right now.

He feels it, as Jensen’s knot starts to catch inside him, his certainty that he can control where this is going starting to crack. It’s not until he feels the wetness on his cheeks that he realises he’s crying.

“Jensen, why-?”

There’s so much he needs to know. Where was this intimacy when Jared needed it? Why is it happening now? The sudden realisation hits him that he can’t trust Jensen, can’t trust this.

But it’s too late. He’s locked in place on Jensen’s knot and it feels so good, better than he can ever remember… Jensen’s sitting up off the bed to kiss him, hand gripping Jared’s dick and working him hard. Gently whispering in between kisses, “Shhh Jay shhh. Just let it happen.”

It’s overwhelming, this affection, after years of being left alone in misery. Jared’s last thought before he loses his brains through his dick is  _ whether Jensen’s been neglecting him on purpose all along...? _

When Jared returns to consciousness, he’s alone in their bed. He’s been cleaned up and dressed in a sleeping shirt, but Jensen’s nowhere to be seen.

“Jensen?” he calls out. No response. And he’s not in the bathroom.

Next he tries to open the bedroom door. It’s locked. From the outside. That’s when he knows. Jensen had said  _ all part of the plan.  _ What about the rest of the plan? It’s Misha. It has to be.

He throws his weight against the door. Repeatedly. Running at it, building up some momentum, but even with him throwing his entire weight against it, it won’t budge.

It takes him about 30 minutes to establish there’s no way out. There’s nothing around the window to help him climb down, they’re too high up for tearing his sheets to fashion a makeshift rope to be a practical solution (and it could lead to awkward questions if anyone spots him), and after banging determinedly on every panel in the room, it seems there are no hitherto undiscovered secret passages out of this room.

So Jared crouches down so that he’s level with the keyhole and shouts with all his might.

“Jensen!”

If there’s anyone there, they don’t answer.


	10. Chapter 10

When his eyes blink gradually open, Jared realises he’s fallen asleep slumped on the floor, leaning against the locked door. It’s pitch dark outside. But he can hear voices.

“-don’t know why you needed to come and tell me this now.” It’s Jensen. Jared strains to hear all he can through the keyhole, trying desperately not to make a sound himself.

“You promised us good money for the job.” Jared doesn’t recognise the second voice.

“Come find me tomorrow, after the coronation. Coming up here was risky and dangerous. You’d better not have been seen.”

“No worries chief. We were careful.” 

“Good. And you’re sure they’re both dead?”

Jared doesn’t want to think about what’s coming next. Has it really come to this? 

“Cut the girl’s throat myself. And Misha’s got more holes in him than a pincushion. He bled real pretty. We know our work.” 

But  _ why?  _ Jared can’t quite fathom it. 

He hears Jensen clear his throat. “Good, now get out of here before someone sees you.”

The door starts to rattle as Jensen puts the key in the lock and Jared scrambles quickly to his feet, darting back from the door, then turning, as if he’s just risen from the bed.

His husband may have left him locked in their bedroom, but Jared’s not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d fretted himself into a fitful sleep against his prison door.

No matter how bad things between them have been, Jared’s always prided himself on his ability to read Jensen. And when they started on this scheme, he still could.

But he doesn’t know the man who steps through the door.

Killing has made him… more complicated.

And Jared’s furious.

“Jensen! What the fuck? You locked me in here! What’s going on and why the fuck would do something like that?”

Jensen’s shaking his head, a condescending smile playing round his lips, walking forward, arms raised placatingly. “I did it for us, Jay.”

“Did what? And doing something ‘for  _ us _ ’ means you tell me what the fucking plan is before you fucking carry it out!”

It’s as if the ground beneath him has turned from solid stone to quicksand. He doesn’t know if it’s safe to reveal how much he heard, and he needs to see if Jensen will tell him the truth. He keeps shouting, high on adrenaline, “What did you  _ do _ Jensen? What fucking stupid decision did you make without me, huh? What have you screwed up now that I have to fix?”

The other man is right in front of him now, and Jared almost can’t bear the touch of those lying hands on his shoulders once again. And if that makes him a hypocrite, he doesn’t care.

“Hush Jay. We’re safe now, Misha’s gone. He won’t find the boys. Richings will, it’s all taken care of.”

Jared looks at him aghast. But at least he knows Jensen’s not lying to him. At least, not at this precise moment in time. “But… he was your friend. Your  _ best _ friend.” If this is what Jensen will do to those closest to him… Jared’s having thoughts he doesn’t want to examine too closely.

But as Jensen leans in for a kiss, trying to pacify him, he fights the press of those full lips against his, turning his head away.

“I did it for you,” Jensen whispers, reluctantly giving up on his attempt to kiss Jared. “Surely you have to see that? He was already suspicious, I knew I was too short with him after the meeting, I could see it in his eyes. And when even you couldn’t persuade him, after all the persuading you’ve done since we started this… that’s when I knew… he had to go.”

It makes a sort of sense. It does. And Jensen’s obviously more observant than Jared has previously given him credit for. But that’s beside the point.

“You should have  _ told  _ me Jen,” he half-whispers, half-hisses. “I can’t help protect us, if I don’t know what you’re planning.”

“I’m king now Jay,” Jensen murmurs back. There’s a pause, the unspoken  _ and your Alpha  _ hanging in the air between them. They’re in an awkward not-embrace, Jensen trying to wrap his arms around Jared, as Jared stands ramrod-straight and inflexible. “Tomorrow I’ll be crowned. You don’t need to protect me.”

He hates himself for it, but Jared tilts his head to one side, trying to make himself smaller than he really is, a little hint of subservience, but he needs to know. It’s a new and unpleasant situation, but he’s starting to feel just a bit scared of the man in front of him.

“Why’d you do it Jen? Why’d you lock me in?”  _ And don’t you fucking dare tell me it was for my own good. _

“I knew what I was going to do about Misha. I couldn’t risk you finding out. You might have tried to stop me.”

Jared doesn’t say anything. He can’t deny he thinks it was a bad idea. Jensen apparently doesn’t notice because he keeps talking.

“In your plans, you never had a guaranteed way for dealing with him. He was a loose end. And you weren’t ready to take the necessary steps, I could see that. And I didn’t want you to tell you my plan. Because…”

Jensen pauses and Jared looks away, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

“Because there was a chance I’d’ve let you talk me out of it.”

All the air in Jared’s lungs rushes out in one shaky breath, he feels the wetness in his eyes and realises his cheeks are damp with tears. Jensen’s hands are on his hips, a steady hold that’s keeping him on his feet.

“He was your friend.” Jared puts his hands on Jensen’s shoulders, trying desperately to get it through to him. “You...  _ killed _ your best friend. And it’s not tying up a loose end. It’s yet another body we’ll have to explain…”

“I trust the people who did this. No one will find them…

“Them?” Jared knows he’s talking about Misha  _ and  _ Katherine, but he’s asking to keep up appearances.

“They killed his daughter too. I’ve secured our legacy Jay... beaten that stupid prophecy...”

“You hope.” And for fuck’s sake, the last thing Jared wants now is to talk about trying for another baby. He can feel Jensen’s hope for it trying to edge its way into the conversation.

“Come on Jay, we should go to bed.” Ah. There it is, the suggestion, accompanied by just a little bit of a squeeze on Jared’s hips. And he is not having it.

“No Jen. No.” Scared he may be, but he’s angry too. And he has his limits. “ _ I _ should go to bed.  _ You _ locked me up. In  _ our _ bedroom. You’re lucky you’re only on the couch.”

To his great relief, Jensen doesn’t push it.

Lying in there in the dark, it’s only when Jensen’s breathing morphs into measured snores that Jared can relax.

Jensen had his best friend murdered. It may be time for Jared to reconsider his options.

~~~

Jared wakes the next morning after a night of disturbed sleep to the sounds of Jensen already moving around the room. It’s the day of his coronation. It feels like almost too grand a word, for the straitened circumstances in which humanity now finds itself after the havoc wreaked by the sickness, but tradition has kept the clan together through the difficult times. Having a coronation makes sense. But Jared’s apprehensive, for all that this part of the plan was largely his. The last 24 hours have been illuminating in ways he could never have imagined.

He pretends to be asleep for a few minutes more, trying to calm himself, getting ready to present the best face to Jensen once he gets out of bed. Maybe, once Jensen’s secure in his position, he’ll calm down. Plan fewer impulsive murders. For Jensen, killing Misha had meant defeating the prophecy he keeps talking about. And up until their last fuck, Jensen had been awfully keen to talk about breeding Jared up again, having another baby. He wouldn’t be surprised if Jensen’s obsession with legacy had factored into his decision making.

And what does that mean for Jared’s own position? He’s not a medical expert, but he knows his own body. The problem isn’t him and the problem isn’t Jensen. The problem is the two of them together. Not that Jensen and the whole raft of specialists they’ve been to would ever see it that way.

Until last night, Jared would have said he could be certain that although his own feelings for Jensen had expired long ago, Jensen still believed them very much in love. Hell, last night had been the first time their coupling could actually be called  _ lovemaking _ for the first time in  _ years. _ But when your husband locks you in the bedroom in order to facilitate the smooth murder of his oldest friend, you do have to wonder who he might be lining up as your replacement. Was last night Jensen’s way of saying goodbye?

Once the thought has crossed his mind, Jared can’t deny the logic. He hasn’t seen any concrete evidence of it yet, but were he in Jensen’s position, it would have a neatness to it. Secure the crown, then get rid of his last remaining accomplice, the only other person who knows what he’s done. Find someone supposedly more fertile. More compatible. Continue the dynasty.

He can’t help himself, he lets outs a little cry, which he tries, ineffectually, to disguise as a yawn. Jared doesn’t want to die. Footsteps, and then Jensen is immediately at the bedside, already fully dressed. He pulls the covers down, fingers gently brushing Jared’s hair away from his face, his expression all tender concern.

“What’s wrong Jay?”

Jared turns his head into the palm of Jensen’s hand, almost nuzzling him, wiping a few tears away on the skin of Jensen’s palm.

“I-I love you Jen… So much.”

“I know Jay, I know.” A pause. “I love you too. I’m sorry. About last night.”

Jared wishes he could believe him.

~~~

The coronation itself takes several hours. Jensen starts proceedings by officially naming Elder Richings as his clan second. The older man kneels with grace and is the first to pledge fealty to Jensen as their new king. He then oversees every single member of the clan coming forward to make the same oath of loyalty. Elder Huffman is standing in for Misha as acting commander while he is away. The absence causes a few seconds of disquiet when Elder Richings announces what’s happening, but nobody says anything. Jared happens to catch sight of Pellegrino while Richings is speaking. He’s frowning, but manages to smooth the expression away after a few seconds.

Jared is the last to swear loyalty. As King’s Consort and first omega of the clan. He drops to one knee, head bowed. Jensen proffers his right hand and Jared takes it, his mind decrying every word he speaks as he recites the oath of allegiance to his husband, his Alpha, his king, before kissing Jensen’s hand. That done, Jensen cups his chin with his left hand, tilting Jared’s head up until their gazes meet.

For all that he’s afraid, Jared holds completely still.  _ Do not give him the satisfaction of seeing you falter. _

Then the moment passes and Jensen’s raising his omega to his feet, pulling him in for a passionate kiss in front of the whole clan. Jared lets it happen, responds enthusiastically. 

This tells him he’s safe in public at least. For now.

~~~

There’s a feast afterwards. Most of Jared’s time in the last week has been taken up with preparing for it. Jensen gets drunk incredibly quickly, which puts Jared’s mind a little bit more at rest. His husband is boozing it up the way someone does once a great weight is lifted. He can’t help but feel a little bit smug about that, he  _ told  _ Jensen a coronation would make everything easier for them.

Then Jensen has to go and completely ruin everything.

Jared’s been keeping a clear head, his self-preservation instincts not wishing to give any assassination attempt the advantage of taking place while he’s drunk, and Jensen, Jensen is swaying tipsily against him, his crown, just a ceremonial gold circlet really, at a rakish angle, mumbling various bits of nonsense that Jared has been nodding and smiling along without paying much attention until Jensen, suddenly shouts, “Misha!”

“Jen, what?” Jared turns to him, his hands gripping Jensen’s shoulders.

Jensen is slurring his words, but getting louder by the second, “Wherresh Misha, Jay? He’sh…d, heshouldBE _ here.  _ Said he would alwayshbe here for _ me _ …”

Jared tries to be rational, keeping his voice calm and re-assuring, but it’s difficult to maintain his composure when he looks directly into Jensen’s eyes. There are tears, and the fixed intensity of someone gripping on to their sanity for dear life.

“You know where Misha is Jen, he’s out on a mission. For the good of the clan.”

“But I  _ saw him _ Jay… I saw him… RIGHT THERE!” Jensen shouts the last part and points down the length of the hall to the main doors.

To begin with, most people are drunk enough that they don’t notice their new king’s outburst, but once Jensen starts yelling, that changes and the general hubbub starts to die down.

Jared stares where Jensen’s pointing, at the black maw of the open double doors leading to the building’s entrance. There’s not a soul to be seen.

“Jensen, there’s no one there! Think about it! If Misha had come back, he’d come straight here to tell you any news.”

Jensen’s voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper, but it’s still not quiet enough for Jared’s liking, “Misha’snot…  _ coming _ back Jay… There was SO MUCH BLOOD. They TOLD ME...”

He’s yelling again, swaying in the bracket of Jared’s arms, and as Jared looks around for assistance, he catches Richings’ eye, and manages, with extensive waggling of his eyebrows, to convey to the older Alpha that it’s time to break up the party.

Richings has a surprisingly loud bellow for such a slight man, “Honoured guests, His Majesty is not well. Perhaps it would be best if-”   
  
“No! No _ nonono _ !” Jensen’s shouting, stumbling, pulling himself away from Jared and lurching around in a small circle. “I’m fiiiine. Let’s drink!”

Jared quickly surveys the room. The clan members still present are just about drunk enough that the good mood hasn’t entirely dissipated. Jensen’s raising his glass, and others are lifted in celebration, someone’s started singing an old hunting song. His shoulders sink an infinitesimal amount as he senses the good mood in the room start to rise again. That was close. But he obviously needs to keep close to Jensen and get him to bed, subtly and slowly, as soon as he can.

He doesn’t get the chance.

Not twenty minutes after Jensen’s outburst, the party is well and truly ended by the arrival of Misha’s valet, Jimmy Novak. He’s covered in blood and sobbing.

By the time Jared spots him, it’s far, far too late. Jimmy’s well and truly in the room, making a beeline for Jensen, crying out his terrible news that Misha and Katherine are dead. Misha’s horse came back to his stronghold riderless, with blood on its flanks. Jimmy and some other members of his household went to search for him and made the gruesome discovery.   
  
Jared doesn’t know who Jensen engaged to commit these murders, but some internal part of him is screaming hysterically that Jensen better ask for his money back, if this is how poor a job they make of covering their tracks. Then he pulls himself together in record time, because from the way Jensen is staggering towards him, face shining with tears, it’s clear he’s going to be no help right now.

Jimmy goes down on one knee before them, placing both hands on his upright leg, taking shuddering breaths as he struggles to compose himself.   
  
“Your Majesty… Jensen… I-I’m so sorry to be the one to bring you this news. But my master… your friend… is dead.”

Jensen just gazes at Jimmy, his eyes slightly unfocused, in the silence of the hall. No one’s having fun anymore, everyone is staring and Jensen has gone completely still next to Jared. And he’s the only one who knows why. So he does what he always does.

“Tell us what happened Jimmy,” he commands.   
  
“He left us last night, to search for the princes. Katherine with him. They travelled light. After the coronation, we returned home… and found… found my master’s horse. She was terrified, blood-stained. I calmed her, gathered two more of the household and let her lead us…”   
  
Jimmy’s voice tails off, he’s clearly trying not to cry again. The entire hall is hanging on his every word.   
  
“Go on, Jimmy,” Jared prompts gently.   
  
“We found them… in a ditch. My poor master and the young mistress. Dead. There was so much blood.”

Muttering instantly breaks out around the hall, but Jared shushes them with a wave of his hand. 

“Let the man speak!”   
  
“We brought them home, to dress the bodies for burial. I came straight here with the news.”   
  
That explains why he’s covered in blood.

Jimmy drops his head. “Forgive me Majesties, I would have changed my attire, but I, I was so caught up in grief, and I, I thought Your Highness in particular,” he nods to Jensen, “would want to know as soon as possible.”

“I knew… I knew…” Of course when Jensen opens his mouth, the first thing he says is something potentially incriminating. Jimmy is already giving them a strange look as it to say  _ Knew what? _

Jared interrupts quickly, “What my lord means to say is, he knew that what Misha was doing was risky. He tried to recover Brock and Colin for us, and there are obviously enemies of the clan out there who don’t want us to know the truth. They won’t get away with this!”   
  
“No!” shouts someone from the assembled crowd.

“Misha was my best friend!” Jensen cries out. “This is an outrage! His death… his death…” Having started a rallying call, he can’t seem to finish it.   
  
“His death was a tragedy. And an attack, against us all! But our clan is strong. And we will not let this stand! We will NOT give victory to our enemies” Jared shouts.

The hall erupts with shouts of solidarity. In the chaos, Jared’s almost pulled to the ground as clan members swarm him and Jensen, just as Jensen’s legs buckle and he falls to the floor in a drunken stupor, tears flowing down his cheeks.   
  
Jared wants to believe that they’re real. That Jensen regrets Misha’s death. If this is how killing your best friend feels, maybe it’ll put him off the idea of killing his husband. If that  _ is _ Jensen’s plan. If, if, if. It’s all ifs now and Jensen’s drunk and despairing and as useless as ever.

Richings finds the pair of them in the crowd and helps Jared haul their sobbing king to his feet.   
  
They share a look and Richings mouths, “Get him to bed,” and then the clan second is clearing a path for them, his surprisingly strident tones causing the clan members to fall back ahead of him.

“Friends, hunters, family… This double tragedy has overshadowed our celebration. It is time to rest. But rest assured. The council will meet tomorrow and we will avenge these foul murders one hundred fold. Now, let the king through. Let Alpha Ackles through. Let us mourn our brother Misha tonight. In the morning, we strike back!”

The party ends in disarray. Jared can bear Jensen’s weight without too much difficulty, and just about manages to steer him out of the hall and up to their bedroom with no further mishaps. he just hopes to hell that as they depart, the general tumult covers the sound of Jensen weeping into his shoulder, “I’m sorry... oh gods, Mish... I’m so sorry..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be smaller (and probably slower) from now on, as I've posted everything that I had written up to this point of the story. The end is done, I have three other chapters planned out and two that are partially written and need more adding to them. There's also an event that needs to happen that I haven't conceptualised at all yet and I don't know if it will be a full chapter on its own or not. But we're getting there.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait for an update. Life overtook me a little and then I realised I was procrastinating writing this instalment because something sad happens near the end of it and I was putting off writing it. I work a completely irregular schedule and can never promise regular updates, but I am still writing, so we'll get there eventually, thanks for your patience <3 and thanks as usual to [DeeMB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeMB/profile) for the beta read.

Jensen’s almost a dead weight as he staggers against Jared on the way to their private rooms. Jared’s always kept in good shape, but even so, the load of a drunk, over-emotional Alpha is one he hadn’t been expecting to bear. Back when the idea to kill Morgan had first presented itself, Jared had known that Jensen was suggestible, persuadable. He hadn’t foreseen where that tendency would lead. To Jensen striking out on his own, planning murders he couldn’t stomach, once those plans came to fruition.   
  
There are no sounds around them, besides the occasional stifled sob from Jensen, and a slight thumping in his own ears, that Jared suddenly pinpoints, in a rush of startling clarity, as his own nervous heartbeat.

Back down there in the main hall, Jensen had so very nearly ruined everything. They were almost unmasked.

Truth be told, Jared’s already been feeling the need for an escape route. And Jensen’s unreliability, as well as his unpredictability, have only made that need more pressing.

His thoughts are distracted from the task at hand as he undresses his husband, leaves him sitting on the bed in only a pair of sleep pants while he goes to fetch him a glass of water and a damp cloth to clean his tear-stained face. Jensen’s not quite drunk enough that Jared has to hold the glass for him, but when Jensen sets it aside, half the water gone, Jared has to push it away from the edge of the bedside cabinet to make sure it doesn’t fall.  
  
Jensen seems to come back to himself a little with the application of the water and the wash cloth. Jared’s pulling back the covers and swinging Jensen’s legs up on the mattress, tipping him gently back onto the pillows when his husband starts to speak, sounding the most coherent he has for several hours.

“Is… is Misha really dead, Jay? Did I..? Did we..?’

And no, Jared’s not letting that slide, this is absolutely _not_ on him.

“ _We_ didn’t do this Jen. _You_ did.”

He takes no pleasure in the way Jensen screws his eyes shut, squeezing tears out at the corners, as he makes a futile attempt not to cry.

“I need to get up, Jay, they’ll be here soon…”

Jared asks, “Who will?” for the look of the thing, but he thinks he already knows.

“The men who did this. I owe them.”   
  
“I’ll take care of it.”   
  
“Jay-”

“I _said_ I’ll do it. Just tell me where I can find what you promised them.”   
  
At first Jensen looks like he might keep resisting, but Jared is in no mood to hear it.

He gestures with his right hand, “The trunk in my closet, the brown leather pouch.”  
  
Jared finds the bag and looks inside. Bullets, boxed up, and in good condition. No use without a gun. But if you have a gun…   
  
“Where did you get these?”   
  
“Found them at Beaver’s place. I… I went back there after his execution. Before I came home…”

“And who else knows about this?” Jared makes as if to toss the pouch from one hand to another, making Jensen flinch.

“No one.”  
  
Jared knows he’s walking a dangerous line here, and he’s still a bit scared of the man in front of him, not sure that feeling will ever go away. But Jensen’s tired, emotional, _vulnerable_ , and Jared needs answers. Needs to know what else he might have to do to stay safe.   
  
“How do you know? How can you be sure? Was Misha with you? Could he have told anyone?”

“I was alone, Jay. I’d already said goodbye to M… to Misha. It was the last place I stopped that day before coming home to you. I just went… I just went to say goodbye…”  
  
Jensen’s face is broken open with grief, and he holds Jared’s gaze without flinching.   
  
He’s pretty certain Jensen’s telling the truth. Or at least he thinks he is. Feeling magnanimous, he walks back over to the best and drops a kiss on Jensen’s forehead. “Go to sleep Jen, I’ll take care of this.”   
  
Jensen seems resigned. He makes an aborted attempt to sit up to kiss Jared properly, but the alcohol in his system has him flopping back down on the bed.

As he heads for the door, Jared hears, “Thanks Jay… love you…”

“You too.”   
  
~~~

The man waiting outside his bedroom door is not the one Jared was expecting. He doesn’t know what the incompetent murderers Jensen hired look like, but this is someone he recognises. It’s Elder Richings. He deigns to give Jared the smallest nod, as befitting his rank as Royal consort, but that’s all the acknowledgement he receives.

But at least Richings gets straight to the point, Jared can admire that about him, even if he could sense the Alpha’s disgust at having to treat an omega as something approaching an equal with his eyes shut.  
  
“Where is His Majesty?”

“In bed. I-”  
  
“And what are you doing out here, not looking after him?”

Jared straightens up at the implicit rebuke, holding himself stiffly.

“He is expecting someone, to conclude a business matter. He wasn’t feeling his best, so I put him to bed, and now I’m here in his stead, at his request.”

Richings gives him a look that implies he doesn’t believe that in the slightest, but Jared’s not backing down.

“You don’t need to trouble yourself with such things Your Highness, it’s already been dealt with.”

The words are polite, but the tone says _o_ _megas don’t have the head for this sort of business._ He wonders if Jensen has let Richings in on just how involved Jared’s been with this entire scheme. From the way the Alpha is still somehow managing to look down his nose at him, despite being half a foot shorter, he doubts it.

“The king had promised payment-” Jared begins.

“I assure you, Your Highness, they’ve been…” Richings pauses, a small smile playing around his lips, “well recompensed.”

Jared lets out a breath he hadn’t realised he was keeping in. They must be dead. That’s a relief.

“You’re sure Elder Richings? It just wouldn’t do for people to think the Crown didn’t keep its bargains. Can I tell my husband that you personally guarantee we won’t be troubled by any further requests for payments?”

It’s a perfectly innocent conversation. But for all that Richings has made his contempt for Jared plain, it seems they understand one another.

“His Majesty’s reputation for fair dealing remains intact. You have nothing to fear on that score. No one will come asking for any additional payments for services rendered.”

This was easier than he was expecting, it’s about time something started going right for them again. But he really needs to put a stop to Jensen’s erratic decision making.

“Then please accept my thanks, Elder Richings, on behalf of the king. I’ll make sure he doesn’t forget your... loyalty.”

Oh yes, Jared can choose his words carefully too.

The Alpha smiles at him, lips lizard-thin, and says, “Of course, Highness, we all have our part to play in keeping things stable after Alpha Morgan’s death. I will do mine, and you…”  
  
If he wasn’t staring the man dead in the eyes, Jared might have thought he’d imagined the brief flicker of his gaze down to Jared’s stomach.

“...You should do yours.”

There’s nothing he can really say to that, and thankfully, the Alpha is turning on his heel and striding away before Jared has the chance to lose his temper or do something else equally stupid. He wraps his arms around his sides, hugging himself tightly. If Jensen really is thinking of replacing him, maybe Richings will be the one to wield the knife. Jared shudders and returns to his room.

~~~

Sleep doesn't come. Jensen's deep in the stupor of the drunk and fretful, noisy and restless, but almost impossible to wake. Jared tries unsuccessfully to rouse him a couple of times before giving up and shifting to the couch himself, but it's no good. He can't switch off his brain. He's nothing to fear from Jensen tonight, passed out as he is. But Richings is a different matter. Their conversation has done nothing to shake the feeling Jared has that he's living on borrowed time. Maybe tonight would be too soon for a conspiracy to arrange Jared's murder, but he can't shake the looming fear of sudden death sneaking up on him in the dark. Finally, he gives up on sleep and, checking through the drapes, can see that it's a fine night, with clear moonlight shining brightly over the grounds around the building, and he decides that maybe some fresh air will help the turmoil in his head. Moving quietly so as not to disturb Jensen any further, Jared heads for the gardens. 

He doesn’t meet a soul on his way to the ground floor and it’s easy enough to slip out of the back door and into the garden.

Or at least, it would be, if there wasn’t someone immediately on the other side of the door, reaching forward as if they’re about to try the handle.

It’s a quiet night, with a few clouds, but there’s still enough light that Jared can recognise the man in front of him, apparently about to break into his home.

“Jimmy? What on earth are you doing?”

Misha’s manservant drops to his knees, clasping Jared’s hand in both of his.

“Your Highness. Thank goodness it’s you… he said…” Jimmy’s almost crying with relief.

“Who said? What’s going on?”

It takes a few seconds for Jimmy to get himself under control to the point where he can construct sentences that make sense, but then he looks up at Jared from where he’s kneeling on the ground.

“Your Highness, I have to show you something. Now. I tried to visit you earlier, but Elder Richings was outside your door and I couldn’t risk being seen by anyone but you.”

“What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?”

He’s still kneeling at Jared’s feet, but Jared can sense the man’s exasperation in the way his body shifts in the position.

“It’s not safe to speak of it aloud. We’ll need to move before the sun comes up. Just, please, come with me now. Just to the edge of your estate.”

The land clearances for food cultivation are continuing, but there’s still a fair bit of work to be done. Jared wavers. There’s no denying he’s curious.

If you ever trusted my master, please…” Jimmy begs, “Come with me now.”

Jared follows him out through the wilderness of overgrown shrubs and nettles that cover the ground between the trees at the eastern end of the garden. The undergrowth is dense here and the clearance crews have made little impact so far, but Jimmy seems to be following a path of sorts, some hastily hacked trail through the foliage.

The moonlight doesn’t quite penetrate here, not enough to really see, but Jared thinks he can make out a ramshackle structure up ahead, possibly a pile of logs, or an old forester’s hut, on closer inspection.

Jared has held his tongue during the walk, but he judges that they’re now far enough away from the house that he can demand more of an explanation.

“Jimmy, what’s going on? Tell me!”  
  
“You can go inside Highness, he’s waiting for you.”   
  
Jared pauses as the entrance, a flap of old worn leather across a slanting door so low he’d have to stoop to pass through. He listens to the sounds of the night around him. He can hear his own heartbeat, the sounds of himself and Jimmy breathing. Clicks and chirrups from nighttime insects, the far away hoot of an owl. Nothing seems out of place, but this could still be a trap.

And then he hears the small, laboured cry of pain from within. Nobody who sounds like that is going to hurt him. He pushes the flap aside and enters the shack.

There’s a man lying on a pallet on the dirt floor, the light of a small candle in a lantern flickering over his pale and torn up face. His skin is pale and pinched where the blood’s been cleaned off and almost every inch of him Jared can see is covered in stab wounds. But despite all that, his chest is rising and falling, slowly, shakily, every breath a fight, but he’s not giving up yet.

Now it’s Jared’s turn to fall to his knees in shock and relief.

“Misha.”

~~~

Brock isn’t sure what wakes him. He only knows that he’s suddenly fully awake in an instant, hyper aware of everything around him. Which means he knows, even without the instinctive reach out to pat at the bedroll beside him, that Colin is not lying next to him anymore.

His little brother might just have gone to look for somewhere to piss, but Colin’s bedroll is cold, no lingering warmth, so he’s been gone for more than just a few minutes. Something’s not right.

He gets to his feet as quickly and quietly as possible, grabbing his sword before striking out from their small camp. There’s only a slight breeze, but it’s carrying scraps of conversation on the wind and it’s all he has to go on.

It takes less than ten minutes of walking before he makes a terrible discovery.

It’s largely thanks to his brother’s sudden scream that he doesn’t walk right into it.

There are twenty of them. Hunters dressed in Clan Morgan insignia, the specific markings showing they’re from the Richings family. Brock’s seen those emblems his entire life. He’s ready to run into the clearing, crying out his thanks that they’ve finally been called home. But something stops him.

They’ve got a fire going and standing next to it, hands and feet tied spread-eagled between two stakes driven into the ground, is his little brother.

Brock can see the knife hilt sticking out of Colin’s upper arm, see his blood dripping from the weapon’s point where it’s gone right through the muscle.

It’s not the only thing they’ve done to him, but Brock can’t take it all in. Details of Colin’s injuries jump out at him, but the horror is too great for his brain to take in all at once. But it’s clear the ropes are the only reason his brother is still standing.

Brock has to cover his mouth to stifle a sob of rage and despair. There are twenty of them and one of him. They’re all armed, if he tried anything, Colin would probably be dead before he got anywhere near. _If_ he got anywhere near... Brock knows he’s not a bad fighter, but none of his training, even the last battle against the Lincolns, had prepared him for this. He tries to think, to plan, craning his ears from his hiding place in the shadows between two boulders to get a better idea of what’s going on…

There are four scouts posted, one in each compass direction, the rest of them are intent on the interrogation. Only one appears to be asking the questions but several of the hunters around Colin have blood on their weapons.

Brock hears the lead interrogator say, “For the last time, kid, where is your brother? He’s the one we really want. You tell us, we’ll let you go.”

Colin shakes his head, mumbling something.

“What you mean, you don’t believe me? I told you what would happen if you didn’t co-operate. And I wasn’t lying about that was I?”

Colin doesn’t appear to answer that. Just lets his head slump on his chest.

It happens so fast, Brock’s too shocked to scream. One of the guards behind Colin grabs his head by the hair and yanks it back, running him through with his sword, the blade forcing its way out of his chest with a crunch of flesh and bone that Brock knows will haunt him until he dies.

He doesn’t know if he’s deluding himself, but Brock thinks Colin locks gazes with him across the clearing as the light leaves his eyes. Thinks his brother mouths soundlessly at him to run.

But Brock can’t. He stays, transfixed by the sight of Colin’s body slumping in the unforgiving ropes. 

The lead interrogator is not happy. “What the fuck you do that for?”

“We’re wasting time!” The murderer replies. “We were gonna kill him anyway, and he wasn’t breaking.”

“His brother could be anywhere you dolt, and we have no fucking clue where that is! Have you forgotten the king needs ‘em both dead? ‘Specially Brock.’’

Colin’s killer snorts. “If you really buy this one’s story about them splitting up. But I don’t reckon this little welp could’ve survived out here by himself all this time. We just need to do a proper search...”

Brock has heard enough. Tears streaming down his face, fist jammed in his mouth to stifle the howls of anguish he wants to let loose, he runs back to their makeshift camp and packs everything up in a daze. Then he sets off at a steady pace, putting as much space between him and his little brother’s killers before the sun rises as he can. He’s the last surviving member of his family, the rightful ruler of his clan, and he knows what he has to do.

~~~

Jared can’t believe it. Misha’s alive. This is amazing. Terrible, but amazing. Now Misha absolutely knows what Jensen’s done. What _they’ve_ done. Once again, Jared’s incensed at his husband’s incompetence. If you’re going to kill your best friend, you should at least have the decency to make sure it’s done properly. It’s time for damage control. Again.

“Misha? Can you hear me?”

The answering breath sounds close to a death rattle, but then Misha actually manages to speak. “Hey Jare…”  
  
“Shh.. shh, it’s ok, you’re safe now.”   
  
Jared looks up at Jimmy who’s now come into the hut beside them, “Katherine?” he mouths. Jimmy shakes his head.

Jared takes Misha’s right hand in his. “You were right Misha. About Jensen. I had no idea… I… I never thought he’d do something like this… Please, you have to get better, you can’t die, you can’t leave me… knowing this… about him. On my own. I need you. Please…”

He feels Misha’s laboured efforts to re-assure him, the fingers of his other hand moving slowly, as he tries to run them through Jared’s hair. It’s working.

“Not gonna die, Jare… not now…” His hand falls back on the bed, his eyelids flickering shut.  
  
Jared looks back up at Jimmy. “He can’t stay here.”

It looks for a moment like Jimmy might be about to roll his eyes in exasperation at the idiocy of royalty, but he manages to hold back. “We have plans to move him. I just needed somewhere to get him stable, and where you could come and see him. You’re the only one he trusts.”

Somewhere inside his twisted soul, Jared feels a small thread of tension unwind.

“Where will you take him?”

“Home. As long as they think he’s dead, no one will think to look there.”

It makes a sort of sense, Jared supposes, but it’s not the kind of thing that will stay secret for long.

“Who knows he’s alive?”

“Myself and the other servants who went out to look for him. Six people. And you.”  
  
“And do you trust the others?”

For a second, Jimmy almost looks angry. “He is a good master. We are all loyal. When we thought we had lost him… I have no fear any of them will betray him.”  
  
“Good.”

Jared gets to his feet. “I need to get back to bed, before Jensen misses me. It would be a terrible thing for him to have survived only for Jensen to come looking for me and decide to kill him all over again.”

That gets him a curt nod in response. Jared leans down and drops a gentle kiss on Misha’s forehead.

“Sleep well Misha. I’ll visit as soon as I can.”  
  
Misha’s eyes are closed, but as Jared turns to go, he can see he’s smiling in his sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to say, if you're reading this as it's being posted, on the advice of my beta, I made a few small tweaks to Chapters 7-9 to (hopefully!) make some of the developments in this chapter feel more organic. You could re-read from Ch. 7 if you felt like it, but I haven't deviated from the master plan, just tried to give it more of a solid foundation.

Fortunately for Jared, Jensen had still been passed out drunk and unmoving in their bed when he’d returned from his nighttime expedition. Unfortunately, his husband is incredibly hungover the next morning. Once again, Jared is relieved he’d kept a clear head.

Sunlight is streaming through a gap in the curtains and that’s partly what wakes Jared, as well as the groans coming from the mound of blankets next to him that is Jensen.

“Jaayyyy… sunnnn… Make it stop?”

With a sigh, Jared gets out of bed and throws the drapes wide open.

Jensen’s a little more attentive once he’s washed and dressed, but as they both go about their morning routines, getting ready to face the day, he barely says anything. Jared turns over various conversational openings in his head, but he’s apprehensive about starting a discussion when he has almost no idea where it will lead. Jensen believes Misha is dead, Jared  _ knows _ he isn’t, Misha almost certainly knows Jensen is responsible for Morgan’s death, but doesn’t appear to know about Jared’s involvement. It’s one big mess and for the first time since they started down this road, Jared realises he doesn’t know what to do next. 

But they need to keep up appearances, at least until they can figure something out. And with that, he works out what he needs to say.

“Jen, you need to call a meeting of the elders this afternoon. We’ll take the morning to plan a strategy, but you need to appoint a new head of the hunters, and we need to look like we’re tackling this. I know Richings already took care of the murderers, he told me, so we just need to-’’

“ _ We _ don’t need to do anything Jay. You were right, this isn’t your mess. I’ll take care of things. Don’t worry about it."

Jensen’s inability to learn from his mistakes is starting to drive Jared up the wall. He runs one hand through his hair, trying desperately to keep a handle on his temper. 

“Jen, we only landed in this whole situation because you went on ahead and did something without me. We were doing fine as a team, let me help you.”  _ Keep me around. I’m still useful. Keep me alive. _

Jensen turns to him, catching Jared’s face with both hands, holding him so he has to meet Jensen’s gaze.

“Not for this Jay. After it’s sorted out, you’ll be right back in this with me. But I’m the one who screwed up, and I’m going to fix it. We’ll hold the meeting tomorrow. But there’s something I have to do today. And I have to do it by myself. You can’t help with this.

“But-!”

Jensen shuts him up by kissing him, and although Jared tries to keep talking through it, he eventually resigns himself to the futility of trying to convince Jensen of anything. He  _ knows _ that delaying the meeting is a bad plan, the clan will be hungry for retribution in the wake of Misha’s apparent death, but Jensen is king now. And, whatever he says about listening to Jared’s counsel once this particular mess is tidied up, it’s clear being king means he doesn’t think he has to listen to  _ anyone _ anymore.

~~~

Jensen leaves the estate alone on his horse within the hour after they’ve breakfasted, saying he will be gone for the whole day. Throughout the morning, Jared has to field a few messengers from representatives of Clan Elders, who had, rightfully in Jared’s opinion, assumed there would be a council meeting to discuss their next steps. He is at least able to send them back with the news that the council will meet tomorrow. The king is seeing to the matter personally, but there is essential business he has to attend to first today. It sounds like bullshit to Jared, even as he says it, but one of the perks of being part of the royal family is that people are apparently either too scared or too subservient to tell you that.

Once he’s had lunch and there is nothing pressing he has to take care of, Jared decides it’s the perfect time to visit Misha. He tells his servants he’s feeling unwell and needs to be left in peace until the evening. If anything comes up in his absence, they should refer the matter to the Clan Second. He doesn’t much like leaving Richings in charge, but needs must and the day is moving on.

Misha’s estate is within walking distance from his and Jensen’s new home. Jared avoids meeting anyone on his way out by climbing the stairs in the direction of his and Jensen’s apartments and then taking the back stairs back down again as soon as he’s out of sight. He can’t do anything to disguise his height, but he wraps himself in a nondescript grey cloak he finds in a storeroom close to the scullery. Every nerve screaming at him that he’s about to be discovered, he walks out at an unhurried pace, doing his best to look as unobtrusive as possible.

~~~

The walk takes longer than it normally would, as he sets off in a completely different direction before doubling back once he’s a reasonable distance from home. Misha’s household is quiet when he approaches, there’s a plume of smoke rising from a single chimney. Anyone who didn’t know better wouldn’t think a senior clan member was still in residence. There’s none of the bustle and activity of an active family. Jared heads for the back door and knocks. Three raps, definitive, but not insistent.

It’s Jimmy who answers the door, his look of suspicion melting into one of relief when Jared pulls back his hood.

“Your Highness! I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“I came as soon as I could. How is he?” Jared has had some time to think on his way over, and decided it was best to start this seduction as soon as he’s through the door. The more people he can convince the better.

“A little better. Still weak. But he’s awake, and sitting up. I was about to bring him some food. His physician said we would be better to feed him little and often.”

“That sounds sensible.” Jared has no idea if it actually is, but he needs to sound supportive of anything that gets Misha back on his feet. “Can I see him, please?”   
  
Jimmy nods. “Of course, I’ll take you up right away. Just let me pick up the tray.”

Misha’s sitting up in his bed, propped up with extra pillows. There’s a little more colour in his cheeks in the light of day, but he still looks like someone who lost a lot of blood in the very recent past.

Despite the precarious nature of his own position, Jared realises he is still genuinely glad to see him.

He doesn’t rush forward though, but lets Jimmy walk ahead of him and place the tray of food on the blankets. Jared approaches the opposite side of the bed and sits down carefully on the mattress, wary of upsetting either the patient or the meal, but he manages to get settled without any accidents.

Once he’s seated, Misha reaches for his hand. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but his grip already feels a little stronger.

Jared looks at him closely. Misha’s clearly in pain, not trying to hide it, but not giving into it either. His expression is strangely blank, but Jared guesses having your best friend try to orchestrate your murder will do that to a man.

“Hey Mish…” It’s always been primarily Jensen’s nickname for him, but Jared judges they’re heading in a direction where he can claim it instead.

“Hey Jare.”

He doesn’t really know what to say, so he opts for honesty. “You look like shit.”

Misha flashes him a mirthless grin in response, “Feel like it too.”

“What happened? You don’t have to tell me, but I-”

Misha cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “There was a gang of them. Katherine was riding behind me, they surrounded her, pulled her from her horse. I turned round to try to help her, then a load more came out of the bushes… Cut me off from her…” 

He stops talking, eyes going distant as reliving the memories temporarily overcomes his ability to speak. Jared squeezes his hand gently.

“They stabbed me. The physician said at least 30 times. How they missed all the important bits… I don’t know. I guess I got lucky. Once Katherine was… I… I just gave up, played dead, passed out… I don’t know how long it was before Jimmy and the others found me.”

Jared closes his eyes and bows his head, not wholly lying when he says, “I’m so, so sorry Mish.”

“I knew you’d understand,” Misha says softly, “...knew you’d understand what it’s like to lose a child.”

Jared gasps, like the breath has been punched out of him. And he’s really not faking his feelings now. Of course Misha would be the one to see that parallel.

He doesn’t say anything, feels the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. He’s crying for both of them. There’s a mumble of conversation he’s not really paying attention to, as Misha tells Jimmy to give them the room, and then he feels Misha’s thumb, stroking across the backs of his knuckles. And if this isn’t completely ass backwards, Jared doesn’t know what is. He’s the one supposed to be doing the comforting here.

Once Jimmy’s gone, Jared manages to pull himself together. But his train of thought has been thoroughly derailed and he finds himself talking with no real plan.

“I’m scared Mish… He, he’s, we’ve been trying for another baby for years, but it just doesn’t happen. I think we’re broken, maybe  _ I’m _ broken, but he’s oblivious… Or, or I thought he was. But lately… I don’t know. He's distant, then not. I don't understand it… I’m worried he’s going to try to… to try to get ri…” 

He can’t finish that sentence. Can’t say it out loud in case stating it makes it true.

Misha’s gaze is sympathetic all through his rambling.   
  
“Do you remember Jay, when I asked you, if you thought Jensen could have killed Alpha Morgan while you slept?”   
  
Jared nods.

“Did you believe it was possible?”

“No.” He thinks he can see pity in Misha’s eyes, but this is one lie he can’t afford to discard.

“I didn’t want to believe I was right,” Misha continues. “A part of me still doesn’t. But deep down, I know I am.”

Jared’s almost shaking as he says the words, filled with a desperate hope that this is the closest he’ll ever have to come to a confession of guilt, if he can make this stick, he might have found a way out of this mess.

“I think you are too.”

“I’m sorry Jare. I know you loved him. I did too. But this wasn’t just an attack on me. He killed my daughter. He’s trying to defeat this prophecy, after the battle, we met these women-”

“I know, he told me, you explained...”

Misha shifts on the bed, wincing as he does so. “Katherine is, was, my only child. He’s trying to destroy my line. And if what you say is true, about his obsession with an heir, then I can definitely understand why you’re nervous. Jensen’s not secure in his position without an heir, especially not with Brock and Colin still in the picture, wherever they are.”

Jared lets out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in. He’s not going mad. He’s not seeing a probable cause for conspiracy on the basis of no evidence. It means a lot to hear someone else reach the same conclusion. But there’s something else he has to confess. He needs Misha on his side, so he needs to share this secret with him now. Jensen’s murder attempts have become sloppy. If there’s any chance the boys are still alive, Jared could well need cover for his actions in the not too distant future. 

“Mish… They ran because I told them to. The boys. I told them to send word when they got somewhere safe.”

“Why would you do that?” Misha is looking at him curiously.

“I… panicked? I guess... We didn’t know who had killed their father. Jensen had only executed Beaver for treason the day before. Brock wanted Jensen to protect them, but there was no way he could have stayed by their sides 24/7… and given what we know now that would obviously have been a terrible idea… but even without knowing that, it just felt... safer...”

He’s staring directly at Misha, keeping his eyes wide, gaze beseeching, trying to mean it with every fibre of his being  _ please believe me _ . Lies always stick better when they’re based on the truth, and hurriedly replaying the memory of that morning he’d urged the princes to run, there’s nothing that stands out in his recollection of the conversation that could trip him up. He just needs the belief of a good man to give his story more weight.

“And you didn’t tell anyone this before, because..?”

It’s the perfect opening.

“Secrets only keep people safe if you keep them. Like you. How safe would you be if I told anyone else you were still alive? Which I am absolutely, 100 percent not going to do.”

Misha smiles mirthlessly. “Good point. And thank you.”

Jared realises he’s still holding Misha’s hand, hasn’t let it go all this time, and it hasn’t felt awkward or uncomfortable.

The other man seems to notice at almost exactly the same moment.

“Thanks for telling me Jare. For trusting me. For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”

“I hope so. I just wanted to keep them safe.”

They sit in silence for a while, until finally Jared notices that Misha seems to be flagging a little, his eyelids fluttering as he struggles to keep them open, so he says, “You should eat something.”

“I should. Jimmy will have my hide if I don’t.”

“Don’t move, I’ll get it.”

Jared lets go of Misha’s hand and reaches carefully across him to pick up the tray Jimmy had left behind. There’s a plate with some bread and cheese, a few slices of apple and a cup of water.

Misha tries to lift the cup, but even that small effort makes his hand shake and it’s only Jared’s quick movements that mean the blankets aren’t soaked.

“Hey, it’s ok. Let me.”

He brings the cup to Misha’s lips, tilts it ever so slightly so he can drink.

Their eyes lock together as Misha drinks his fill. He blinks slowly and Jared lowers the cup and puts it back on the tray. Before Misha can object, before he can question it, Jared takes a slice of apple and brings it up to Misha’s mouth, feels the breath on his skin as Misha inclines his head forward to take a bite. When he comes back for a second bite to take the rest of the piece of fruit into his mouth, there’s the slight slip of his tongue over Jared’s fingers.

He doesn’t react, not yet, not sure how deliberate any of this is on Misha’s part, but the signs are encouraging. The air between them feels charged with electricity. Jared almost expects a spark to jump from his fingers to Misha’s face as he picks up another slice of apple and holds it out to him.

Misha takes a deliberate, careful bite then slowly, needlessly, licks his lips. It’s subtle, but it’s turning Jared on ways he never knew would work for him. When Misha leans forward again, there’s no mistaking the swipe of his tongue against Jared’s fingertips as he eats the rest of the apple.

The other slices of fruit disappear in a similar manner. It’s intimate, erotic, and somehow strangely endearing, setting off a slow build of arousal unlike anything Jared’s ever felt before.

Luckily for him, the bread has already been cut into chunks, spread with butter, and it’s not difficult to get his fingers a bit greasy as he picks them up. 

It’s after the fourth or fifth piece of bread that Misha makes a more obvious move, sucking the tip of Jared’s index finger into his mouth, tongue chasing the taste of butter on his skin. Jared doesn’t moan, just allows his eyelids to flicker shut briefly, he’s not running from this, and Misha needs to know that. But he can’t appear too eager.

He lefts out a little gasp, eyes suddenly open again, as Misha nips gently at the pad of his finger. Then Misha lets him go and Jared pulls his hand back slowly.

“I’m sorry Jare.”

“For what?”

Misha shrugs helplessly. “You’re married. You’ve known me for years as your husband’s best friend, why would you even want this?”

He lets out a bitter chuckle at that, “Maybe because my husband's a murderer who wants to kill me?”

“I’m in no state to protect you from him.”

“Doesn’t matter, just knowing you’re alive shows he’s not invincible.”

Jared feeds him another piece of bread. Once he’s finished it, Misha plants a very deliberate kiss on Jared's fingertip, before sucking his finger into his mouth. This time, Jared gives more of a response, grinding his legs together where he sits and letting his mouth fall open as his eyes close.

“You’re so beautiful Jare. I’ve always thought that. Jensen’s never really appreciated what he has in you.”

He opens his eyes at that, Misha’s looking directly at him, naked want clearly visible in his face. Jared can work with that, and it’s really no hardship. Even in his weakened state, Misha still possesses an ethereal beauty.

“Thank you.” He means it.

“I really want to kiss you right now.”

Jared raises one eyebrow and allows himself a coy smile. “Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Moving carefully, removing the remains of the meal and making sure not to place his weight anywhere that could possibly hurt Misha, Jared arranges himself on the bed, legs astride Misha’s hips, bracing himself on the headboard, and bringing their faces close together, so their lips are almost touching.

“So kiss me,” he whispers.

It’s tentative, tender, and relatively chaste, until Misha’s tongue slips between Jared’s lips, laying claim to his mouth. He can sense rather than see Misha bring up one hand to cup his jaw and Jared lets himself lean into the touch. No one’s kissed him like this, like they actually care, like he’s something precious, in a way that he can trust, in a very long time. His night with Morgan had been all dominance and passion, the last time he and Jensen were intimate had been all about deception. Maybe he’s kidding himself, but this feels right, and simple, in a way that nothing else in his life does right now. So he loses himself in the kiss for a while, letting the seconds stretch out. Given Misha’s current condition there’s no chance of this going any further, so he lets himself sink into the sensations and just enjoy it, trying to give back through gentle touches and soft sounds just what this is doing to him.

He has no idea how long it lasts before they finally break apart.

“I... that was… I should go. Before Jensen comes home.”

“Jared, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

“Truthfully?”

He nods. “That was wonderful, but…”

Misha’s eyes him sympathetically. “You’re right. You need to keep up appearances.”

“What can I do, Mish?” It’s almost a whisper. “He’s the king. Richings  _ knows _ what’s going on. I don’t trust either of them. I don’t know how long it’ll be safe for.”

“I’ll get you out of there, I promise I just need a few days. To get a bit stronger. To get things in motion. I'm not the only one in the clan who has doubts about Jensen. And you can help. Any information you can bring me about Jensen’s plans will be useful.”

Jared squares his shoulders. He really does feel better. “I won’t let you down, I swear.”

“I believe you Jare. Now, go home. Stay safe.”

On impulse, Jared leans in and kisses him again. Keeps it short, but he needs to cement this connection they’re building.

“I’ll come and see you again as soon as I can. Get well, rest.”

“I will.”

Jared takes the tray down with him when he leaves and returns it to Jimmy before bidding him farewell.

The sun is a fair way above the horizon when he departs. But he still feels like he might be cutting it fine. Jensen hadn’t been too precise about when he would be back, but had told him not to wait for him to eat his evening meal.

He moves quickly heading for home, slowing down as he reaches the boundary of his own estate. It wouldn’t do to attract unnecessary attention when he’s so close to home.

There’s one thought he keeps coming back to as he makes the journey. It looks like it’s time to switch horses.


End file.
